


Complications

by Catspook



Series: The Lynchpin Universe [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: August positive, Blue negative, Hook hopeful - kinda, Like seriously - she's horrible, Multi, Regina hopeful, Rumple positive, This got seriously out of hand, Why does this show have to be so complicated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-05-26 10:37:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 33
Words: 171,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6235309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catspook/pseuds/Catspook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU - The curse has broken, and Rumple must now try to rebuild his family while protecting them from both new and old threats - Ch. 33: Belle is underestimated, Hook and Regina have decisions to make, and Rumple gets a second chance he didn't expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fallout

“Bae, wait!” Rumplestiltskin yelled. He heard the front door slam. He turned to Belle. “Belle, wait here, I need to go after him-”

She smiled and took his hand. “Of course you do, but I will go with you.”

“Belle-”

“Come on.” And she tugged him towards the front door after Bae, still smiling.

_Gods, I love this woman._

XxXxXxX

_Baelfire._

_Rumplestiltskin._

_Magic._

_The Enchanted Forest._

_Neverland._

_Papa, no!_

Angry, hurt, and above all, terrified, Baelfire ran. He wasn’t even watching where he was going, he only knew he had to get away. People were yelling, and he almost got hit by a car, but he wouldn’t stop for anything. Not until he nearly crashed into someone. He backed up, ready to run again, until he heard his name and he saw who he had almost collided with.

_Reul Ghorm._

XxXxXxX

August had to get a hold of himself. He didn’t have much time left, and even with everyone distracted by the curse breaking, people were bound to notice a sobbing man made of wood slumped against a building. He ran through the layout of Storybooke in his head, trying to figure out the shortest route to his father’s workshop. As ashamed as he was, if he was going to die today, he wanted a chance to say goodbye first.

He was slowly pushing himself to his feet when he heard a boy yelling, “YOU! YOU LIED TO ME! THERE IS MAGIC HERE! YOU LIED!”

He looked over and saw Baelfire screaming at Blue, tears running down his face, while she stood there with that same scolding expression she always seemed to have when speaking to August. He couldn’t hear what she said, but Baelfire’s response was clear enough, “YES, THERE IS! YOU LIED!”

August saw Emma and Henry exiting the hospital, rushing over to Bae and Blue. Others were beginning to gather around as well. August was torn. _I just want to see Papa again,_ but he knew what Blue thought of Baelfire, and he could imagine what she was saying to him.

_Emma is there; he’ll be fine._

_Unless Blue convinces her that Baelfire is the one who is lying. She’s the Blue Fairy; everyone will believe her over the Dark One’s kid._

_Rumplestiltskin knows the truth._

_No one will believe him over Blue either._

_If I run, I’ll die that much sooner._

August supposed it really told him all he needed to know about himself that that was what decided him.

As fast as he was able, he limped towards them.

XxXxXxX

Reul Ghorm was looking at Bae like he was insane. “There is no magic here,” she said firmly.

“YES, THERE IS! YOU LIED!”

“Baelfire, calm yourself; you’ve been through a great deal-”

“Because of magic! You said we could escape it here! You said!”

“Kid, what’s going on?” Emma asked, running up to them.

“Emma,” Bae said, practically sobbing. _It’s too much - I just want it to go away!_

“Baelfire is confused. He believes there is magic here, and that I was untruthful with him,” Reul Ghorm said, in that condescending tone.

“I am _not_ confused! There is magic here, and you lied to me about it!”

“Fairies don’t do that,” she said primly.

“Yes, they do,” August said from behind her, panting. “Or you do, anyway; I don’t know about the others. And he’s right about the magic too. It’s rare, but it does exist here.”

“August,” Emma said, “You’re… I broke the curse, why are you still…?”

August raised his left hand slightly. “Because the curse didn’t do this,” he answered, looking away. “I did.”

Bae stared. August was moving as if even just standing hurt, and his left hand appeared to be made of… wood? His attention snapped back to Reul Ghorm when she said, “Pinocchio, you are mistaken.”

“No, I’m not,” August snapped, “You lied to the Council; it’s in the Book. And you were wrong about the magic too; I’ve met people with magic here.”

“Who?” Emma asked.

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice found me in Phuket; he told me about Henry’s Book. And then I met this mystic on Hong Kong. He was able to make potions, and he knew about the Book too. There is magic here, it’s just not everywhere, like back home.”

“Can you fix this?” Emma asked Reul Ghorm, gesturing at August.

“No,” the fairy said, “The magic that keeps Pinocchio human only lasts as long as he remains brave, truthful, and unselfish. He did not, and so…” She gestured vaguely.

“But he did!” Henry protested, “He told Emma the truth, and helped her break the curse!”

“I’m afraid that’s not enough.”

“Why not?” Emma demanded. “So he screwed up - real people do that! He came back!”

“It’s not my decision to make. All magic comes with a price, and that is the price of his.” 

“That’s not-”

“Emma,” August said tearfully, now cradling his left arm against his chest, trying to hide his wooden hand. A crowd was beginning to form. “Just stop.”

“No!” Henry said, tugging on August’s sleeve. “The whole point of breaking the curse was to bring back the happy endings; it’s not a happy ending if you die!” _Die?_

“Die?” Emma asked, “This will kill you?” She looked to Reul Ghorm.

“I’m afraid so; there is not enough magic in this world to keep Pinocchio alive if he is not human.”

“No!” Henry said again, “You can stop this, August; I know you can. I believe in you.”

_I believe in you._

_Believe._

_The Truest Believer._

_It’s Henry._

Compulsively, Bae’s eyes moved to the sky, as if Pan’s Shadow would swoop down any minute and snatch Henry away. Bae’s heart pounded and he started gasping. Suddenly, everything seemed very far away.

_Pan._

_He’s coming. He’s coming, he’s coming, he’scominghe’scominghe’scoming…_

XxXxXxX

_Die? August can’t die! What the hell kind of happy ending is this when breaking the curse doesn’t save him?_

“I believe in you,” Henry said, but to Emma it looked like August had already given up.

He shook his head. “I’m going to find my father now, Henry, before... It’s just,” he looked at Emma, “You needed to know that Baelfire is telling the truth about the magic.” His eyes moved to Bae, and he frowned, “Baelfire?”

Emma looked. Bae was staring at nothing, gasping for air. “I think he’s having a panic attack,” Archie said; he must have been coming out of the hospital and seen the crowd. “Bae can you hear me?” the therapist (cricket?) asked calmly, approaching but not touching him. 

“Bae, just focus on my voice. Can you take deep breaths for me? You’re safe here, Bae, nothing is going to hurt you. Can you breathe with me? In… out… in… out… Come on, Bae, in… out…” Slowly, Bae started to respond. “That’s right, very good, in… out… in… out… You’re doing great. In… out…”

Realizing that the crowd gathered around them could not possibly be helping, Emma started ordering people back. August pulled Henry away a bit while Mother Superior (the Blue Fairy) simply stayed where she was, watching.

“Seriously, go home; go be with your families,” Emma told the crowd.

“What about the Queen?” an orderly asked. “She’s still out there.”

“You leave her to me,” Emma said, suddenly wondering why Mother Superior had told Regina to run like she had. Wouldn’t it have been better to ask her to surrender? Combined with what she’d just heard, it was setting off alarm bells in Emma’s head. “I’m still Sheriff; I’m not going to let her hurt anyone else. Please, go home; when we have more information, I promise, everyone will be notified.”

The crowd was stubborn, but eventually Emma was able to get rid of most of them. When she turned back to them Bae was a little calmer, and Archie was still talking to him in that quiet, soothing voice. “What can I do to help?” Archie asked. “Do you want to find somewhere to sit down?”

Bae shook his head. _That poor kid._ Emma didn’t know what to do. She honestly thought that Gold did love his kid, but she’d also just read their story; she knew Bae had every reason to run from him. She also knew that the Blue Fairy had told Bae (and everyone else) that there was no magic here, which wasn’t actually true. _Was it a lie or was she just wrong?_ Emma didn’t know, but after the condescending, callus way the nun had spoken to both Bae and August, Emma knew that she didn’t trust her.

And then there was Gold; Emma spotted him limping towards them as quickly as she imagined he could with his cane, arm in arm with a woman dressed in a ratty sweater over a hospital gown. _Who is that?_

She’d find out soon enough, and the woman seemed willing enough to be with him, while Bae was still shaking and breathing hard from his panic attack. They needed a game plan, and they needed it now. “Hey, kid,” she asked tentatively, “Your dad’s coming this way. What do you want me to do?”

“Do?” he asked, his head snapping up at the mention of his dad. 

“Do you want me to get rid of him for you?”

“What? No… no, I…” his face contorted. “We’re going to need him.”

“For what?”

“Pan,” he sobbed.

“Pan?”

“His Shadow can travel here; we have to stop him.”

 _Pan. Shadow._ “You mean… Peter Pan?”

Bae nodded.

“Neverland?” Gold’s snarled, obviously close enough now to hear them. “You’ve been in _Neverland_?”

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin saw Bae running towards downtown, and hurried after him as fast as he was able. He hadn’t been terribly bothered by the limitations of his injured ankle in this world, but he cursed it now. At least he had Belle. She’d taken his left arm and smiled encouragingly, not even asking about the limp. “Everything will be all right,” she said, “You’ll see.” Rumplestiltskin wished he had so much faith.

Bae ducked between two buildings, and they lost sight of him. They took the same turn, but had no idea which direction he’d taken after that. “Which way should we go?” Belle asked.

“I don’t know,” Rumplestiltskin said, fighting panic. It was bad enough that Bae had run from him, but with the curse broken people were going to quickly figure out that he was the Dark One’s son; they had to find him before someone decided to act on that.

Belle - brave, perceptive Belle - could read the fear in his voice. “Calm down, Rumplestiltskin; he’s going to be fine.”

 _You don’t know that. He’s a boy; I have to protect him. Protect… Save... Emma._ “This way!” he said, now tugging her along towards the hospital.

“You’re sure he went this way?”

“No. But the Savior is this way, and she owes me a favor.”

“The Savior?”

“Emma Swan, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming,” he explained with a slight smile. “She broke Regina’s curse.”

“Oh, I see.” She said nothing more, following him without question. However, as they hurried along, her smile faltered and her grip on his arm tightened. They were almost to the hospital before he noticed.

“Belle?”

She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. It’s only… Regina’s prison is this way.”

Rumplestiltskin’s temper flared as he took a closer look at Belle’s clothes. “The hospital? That’s where she kept you?” _Kill her. Kill her now. Make it bloody. Make it hurt._

“I… yes, that’s the word they used.”

He was torn. He needed to find Bae; anything could happen to him out there. But he also needed to protect Belle. After a moment, he pulled out his house keys. “Take these; go back to the house-”

“No! I’ll go with you; I know you won’t let anything happen to me.”

“Of course I won’t,” he said, cupping her cheek.

She smiled, and put her hand over his. “Then let’s go.”

“If you’re sure,” he said, concerned.

“Yes.”

“My brave Belle.”

She kissed his palm, then started walking again, matching the pace they’d set before. He took her arm, holding her hand tightly. With her there, he could almost believe everything would work out in the end. _After Regina is dead._

To his immense relief, Rumplestiltskin saw Bae with Emma, Henry, Hopper, the puppet, and, worryingly, Reul Ghorm as soon as the hospital came into view. “There he is!” Belle said, squeezing his arm. “Do you know who he’s talking to?”

“Yes,” he replied, sighing the word more than saying it. “The Savior herself.”

“See?” she said, “I told you it would be all right.”

“Yes, you did.” But finding Bae was only the beginning; now he had to convince him to come home with him, and he did not relish doing so in front of an audience, especially one that included the Blue Fairy. As they approached, he could hear panic in Bae’s voice, and he knew he was responsible. _I’m so sorry, Bae. Please, please let me make it up to you._

Emma was watching Rumplestiltskin warily, hovering over Bae protectively. As relieved as Rumplestiltskin was that she was looking out for Bae, her interference in this would not be appreciated. _And if Reul Ghorm interferes, I will end her._

Bae was crying - _I’m sorry, Bae, I’m so sorry_ \- and he said something to Emma. Rumplestiltskin couldn’t hear it, but her response was clear enough. “You mean… Peter Pan?” Bae nodded.

Rumplestiltskin stopped cold; suddenly, everything made sense. “Neverland?” he snarled, “You’ve been in _Neverland_?” His eyes snapped to the fairy. “YOU SAID YOU SENT HIM HERE!”

He didn’t even realize he’d lunged for her until he felt Belle’s grip on his arm tighten and she shouted, “Rumplestiltskin, no!”

“Papa, don’t!”

“Gold!” Emma warned, putting herself between him and the others, “Stop!”

“You _lied_ ,” he hissed, his eyes still locked on the fairy. She’d backed up a step, but was staring at him with that familiar pursed expression she always directed at him.

“I did not. The bean did take Baelfire to this world.”

“Then _how_ did he get to Neverland?”

“The Shadow,” Bae answered, tears in his voice. “It can travel here. It took me.” _The Shadow? The Shadow can travel HERE?_

“Land Without Magic, dearie?” he spat. The puppet snorted. _The puppet._ “You’re just full of lies, aren’t you, Reul Ghorm? Lies about magic. Lies about trees. You _wanted_ this curse to happen. _Why?_ ”

“Gold, what are you talking about?” Emma demanded.

“Why don’t you tell them, dearie? Tell them that you could have been rid of me centuries ago if you’d just told me about the tree. Instead, you told me about the Dark Curse, and never once interfered in its casting. You _wanted_ this.”

The puppet’s jaw dropped. “He’s right,” he said, his voice shaky. “You knew about Baelfire; you knew why he was doing this. For God’s sake, Blue, why didn’t you just tell him about the tree?”

“Its magic was not for the Dark One to use.” _Kill her. Kill her, killherkillherkillher…_

“Why the hell not?” Emma demanded, “If it could have stopped all of this?”

“Emma! Emma!” Snow White was running towards them, her husband at her side and both wolves and all seven dwarves trailing along behind her. Rumplestiltskin paid her no mind. His rage at Reul Ghorm was warring with his fear of Pan and his Shadow, and he couldn’t _think._

“Rumplestiltskin,” Belle said, still gripping his left arm, “You need to calm down.”

_She’s right. Breathe. Focus._

He burned with the urge to kill Reul Ghorm. To tear her asunder with is bare hands and scatter her remains all over the parking lot. But he couldn’t do it. _Bae. I have to protect Bae. I can’t protect him from the Shadow if I’m imprisoned._

Rallying, he stood up straight, his eyes never leaving the fairy. For the first time in his long memory, he saw her truly nervous. _Didn’t plan on the Savior and Snow White learning of your treachery did you, dearie?_

He smiled. He didn’t have to kill her; he simply had to expose her. Destroying Snow White’s faith in her would hurt more than any physical blow ever could, and where Snow White led, the people of the Enchanted Forest followed. And then he could take care of Pan unimpeded. _Prepare to fall, Reul Ghorm._

XxXxXxX

Belle didn’t know what strange land Regina’s curse had taken them to, but she’d found Rumplestiltskin who had, in turn, found his son; she knew that everything would be all right if they could just talk everything over.

So much was different here, even Rumplestiltskin. In this world, he appeared as human as any other man. He even walked with a cane, something she knew he would never need in the Enchanted Forest. There, he was not only immortal, but nearly invulnerable, and he could heal any injury short of death. _Is he the Dark One here?_ It seemed not; Belle was glad.

And he had missed her. He’d been surprised that she was alive; Regina must have told him that she was dead. It explained why he never came for her. She’d known - she _had_ \- that even if he did not love her as she did him, he would never leave her in Regina’s prison if he had known she was there. He’d left her that pack when she left his castle, after all, even though she’d almost been too proud and angry to take it. Ultimately, it was the books that had convinced her ( _and a good thing too, for Prince Phillip’s sake_ ). 

But Regina had taunted her for nearly three years with the knowledge that he had never come for her, telling her that he didn’t love her - even that he had sold her to Regina for some magical trinket - and after so long, it had become harder and harder to fight the doubt. But now she knew; he’d been suffering as much as she had.

And his son - where had he been? Had Regina captured him too? He’d never really told her his story, too frightened and hurt to open up about it. But they’d found each other somehow; she was so happy for them both.

She did wonder why Bae had run. It was clear he’d been afraid of Rumplestiltskin, but why? Had Regina convinced him that Rumplestiltskin had abandoned him to his fate? If they could just have a chance to talk, she was sure Bae would see how much his father had missed him.

Rumplestiltskin was frightened for him; that was also clear. As different as this world was, she imagined there were still plenty of dangers out there for a young boy alone, especially if Regina was still out there working her evil.

But Rumplestiltskin had allies, it seemed. _The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?_ Belle never would have guessed. But she did know that they were enemies of Regina as Rumplestiltskin was; she could seem them united on a common cause to end her villainy once and for all. Rumplestiltskin, of course, would say it didn’t make him a hero, but Belle knew better.

Happily (even if approaching Regina’s prison, this strange hospital, frightened Belle so much that she could scarcely breathe), they found Bae quickly - with the Savior, as Rumplestiltskin had called the Princess Emma. Belle could see the boy was upset, but she knew he’d be all right if Rumplestiltskin could just explain.

Then Rumplestiltskin had lunged for the woman in the blue cape and gray skirt, and Belle realized that even with his new face, the darkness was still very much a part of him. Belle was shocked to hear the woman’s name - _Reul Ghorm - the Blue Fairy?_ \- but then she’d always known Rumplestiltskin hated fairies, the Blue Fairy in particular. _Is this why? She sent his son away? And to Neverland?_ Belle knew from her reading what a terrible place Neverland was, and she could understand why Rumplestiltskin was angry to learn that the Blue Fairy had sent his son there, even if she could not agree with him taking revenge on her (or anyone).

Belle had always wondered about fairies, and how they seemed to be such bastions of good but then only appeared to a select few. No fairy had saved her from Regina’s dungeon, after all, or come to their aid against the ogres, and Reul Ghorm at least was said to have power to rival the Dark One. She could have intervened if she had wished to.

And, apparently, she could have reunited him with his son long ago and prevented Regina’s curse. Anger Belle had never felt on her own behalf suddenly flared for Rumplestiltskin and Bae, and the people of the Enchanted Forest. But she would not allow it to consume her, nor would she allow the Blue Fairy to lure Rumplestiltskin back into darkness.

He was shaking with rage and, she imagined, fear as well. “Rumplestiltskin,” she said, “You need to calm down.”

And, amazingly, he did. Heart warming, Belle squeezed his arm gently as he straightened himself. _He can be better. I knew it._

Belle had never met Snow White and Prince Charming, but the couple running towards them could be no one else, with how they ran to and embraced their daughter. She had no idea who the others with them were. Like Belle and Bae, Queen Snow and the Prince had not aged under Regina’s curse, while their daughter clearly had. Belle would ask Rumplestiltskin about that later.

“All right, all right,” Princess Emma said, pulling back. “I’m, uh, glad to see you too, but we have a bit of a problem here.”

All of the newcomers immediately looked at Rumplestiltskin. “What sort of problem?” Prince Charming asked.

“Not with him,” the Princess said, “Well, yes with him, but with her too.” She tilted her head in the direction of the Blue Fairy. “Turns out she could have prevented all of this, and I’d really like to know why she didn’t.”

Snow White looked at Reul Ghorm and shook her head. “Oh, Emma, that can’t be true; this is the Blue Fairy. There must be some sort of misunderstanding.” She smiled, extending her hand. “Hello, Blue.” 

The fairy smiled back, inclining her head and taking Snow White’s hand. “Queen Snow.” 

“Perhaps you would now like to explain to your chosen favorite why you not only allowed the curse to be cast, but conspired to separate her from her daughter, Reul Ghorm?” Rumplestiltskin asked accusingly.

Snow White’s jaw dropped. “That… that can’t be true. This was Regina’s doing. You… you’re Rumplestiltskin!” she said suddenly.

He smirked and bowed slightly. “Queen Snow.”

Snow White and her husband tried to pull Emma away from him, but she would not be moved. “Emma, Rumplestiltskin is the Dark One; you cannot trust him.”

“I don’t,” she snorted, “But I don’t trust her either. And what he’s saying matches up with Henry’s Book and what August told me.”

“August-” Snow White looked at the tall, dark-haired man and gasped. Belle followed her gaze and stared; she hadn’t noticed his hand at first glance. “You’re…”

“Turning to wood, yes,” Rumplestiltskin said impatiently, “And remember that when you speak, Reul Ghorm. If the puppet contradicts you, we will know if he is telling the truth or not.” 

“That’s right,” Emma said. The man - August - nodded, his eyes full of pain.

“Now,” Rumplestiltskin said, “Would you like to explain why you lied to the Queen’s Council about the limits of the wardrobe?” 

“It was necessary,” she said primly. “Geppetto demanded that Pinocchio be the second person sent. He also demanded that I not tell the Council the truth. Isn’t that right, Pinocchio?” Shamefaced, the man nodded.

But Rumplestiltskin was not dissuaded. He spoke over Queen Snow’s (and her followers’) attempts to speak. “I see. And the Reul Ghorm takes orders from woodcarvers, does she?”

“He refused to make the wardrobe otherwise.”

Rumplestiltskin smirked. “Ah. Assuming that is true, is there any particular reason Geppetto had to make it? Did Regina lead some great culling of the woodcarvers of the Enchanted Forest that I am unaware of?”

August - _Pinocchio?_ \- gasped. But the Blue Fairy answered, “There was no time to find another.”

“You’re lying,” Emma said flatly.

“Emma!”

Emma cocked an eyebrow at her mother. “Superpower, remember?”

“Emma, your superpower doesn’t always work. Why would Blue even do something like that?”

“Because,” August said, his voice thick with guilt, “You would _never_ have done what I did.”

“What do you mean?” Queen Snow asked.

“Eleven years ago Blue contacted me. She told me Emma had gotten mixed up with a bad guy who was leading her down a dark path, and that I needed to break them up. So I scared him off, just like she told me to.”

“You’re the reason Nate-” Emma stopped in mid-sentence, looking at Henry.

August nodded. “There’s more. Nate didn’t call the cops on you, Emma; I did.”

“WHAT?!”

“Blue told me it was the only way to set you back on the path to breaking the curse. She knew you were pregnant, but she didn’t tell me, I swear. I’m so sorry, Emma,” he sobbed. Belle looked at Reul Ghorm, who appeared unmoved except for the tightness around her mouth. 

“You… you’re the reason Emma had to give up Henry?” Snow White asked August, disbelieving.

“Blue told me that jail was the only way to get Emma off the path she was on. But that wasn’t the reason, was it, Blue?” He glared at the fairy. “You told me after I found the Book that Henry was ‘meant’ to be born and ‘meant’ to be adopted by the Evil Queen; none of that would have happened if Queen Snow had come though the wardrobe instead of me. I’d been looking for Emma for two years, but you didn’t call me until after she met Nate. You _planned_ this.” Suddenly, he gasped and clutched his right arm to his chest, his face contorting in pain.

“See?” Snow White said, “He’s lying! August, you need to stop-”

He started laughing, voice tinged with hysteria. With some difficulty, August used his wooden hand to push up his right sleeve. Belle saw wood turn to flesh. So did everyone else.

“Brave, truthful, and unselfish, Reul Ghorm?” Rumplestiltskin smirked.

And then they heard the mob.


	2. Reaching Out

Archie - _Jiminy? Who am I?_ \- couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The Blue Fairy was the one who had offered him redemption, and given his friend the means to create the child he had always wanted. She’d also saved Pinocchio’s life after he had given it to save Geppetto. But everything that was being said did make logical sense, and Pinocchio - _August_ \- who obviously knew more of the details than Archie did, clearly believed the Blue Fairy had betrayed them. Jiminy didn’t know what to think.

But he did know that Pinocchio was suffering and probably had been this entire time. And Bae - _Baelfire_ \- was suffering too. If the Blue Fairy had done what she was accused of, it was not for Archie to deal with; his patients, and his little wooden boy, were his responsibility.

He was about to check on Pinocchio (the transformation had looked so _painful_ ) when he heard the mob. Dr. Whale was leading an angry crowd through the hospital’s lobby, and then he threw the doors open, yelling, “Follow me! We will get justice!”

“Woah!” Emma shouted, running over to him with Mary Margaret, Charming, Ruby, and Granny on her heels, “What are you doing?”

“Out of our way!” Whale shouted back, “We’re going to kill the Queen!”

“Great,” Grumpy mumbled, “Let’s watch.”

“No!” Archie said, “We cannot stoop to her level. No matter who she is and what she’s done, killing her is wrong.”

“He’s right! Please,” Henry begged, “She’s still my Mom!”

“Emma’s got this, Henry,” August said. “Just stay back here.”

“That’s right; let her handle this,” Jiminy agreed. “They’ll listen to her and your grandparents.” 

“Why should we listen to you?” they heard Whale ask Emma.

“Because I’m still the Sheriff!”

“Because she saved you - all of you!” David added.

“And because no matter what Regina did, it does not justify this!” Snow implored.

“We are not murderers here!” Emma said.

“Well, we’re not from this world,” Whale sneered.

“Yeah, well, you’re in it now.”

“OK, Whale,” Charming said, getting in between Whale and his daughter. “We’re done.”

“Back off,” Whale snapped, “You’re not my Prince.”

David gave him a questioning look. “Who are you, Whale?”

“That’s my business.”

“Well, my business is making sure this town doesn’t go to hell, so whether or not I’m your Prince isn’t the issue. We have a lot to figure out, and this isn’t the way to do it,” David said.

“And Regina’s death,” Snow pleaded, “Won’t provide any answers. She needs to be locked up. For her safety, and, more importantly, for ours.”

“I’m still Sheriff here!” Emma shouted, “I am going to arrest Regina. All of you return to your homes, and when we know more about all of this, everyone will be informed.”

Confronted with a united Royal Family, the crowd began to reluctantly disperse, although Archie noticed more than a few resentful or curious looks directed at not only Emma, Mary Margaret, and Charming, but Pinocchio and Rumplestiltskin as well.

After waiting a moment to make sure that the crowd would not stir up again, Emma began to walk back towards them. “David, you’re my backup. Mary Margaret, take Henry back to the apartment-” 

“No! I’m coming with you!” Snow said.

“No,” Emma said, “Henry comes first, and he knows you better than David.”

“Red and Granny can take Henry.”

“We can, Emma,” Ruby agreed.

Emma sighed. “OK, fine.”

“And we’re coming with you too,” Leroy growled. “There’s no telling what she has in that house of hers.”

“She’s out of magic,” Emma explained.

“Doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a shotgun.” 

Emma nodded. “Good point. OK, the seven of you are with us. Ruby and Mrs. Lucas are taking Henry. The rest of you,” she shouted to their assembled group, “Head to the Sheriff’s Station. We are getting to the bottom of all of this.”

“No,” Snow said, placing a hand on her daughter’s arm, “That can wait, Emma; we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“About... your life? You must have so many questions.”

“Look, can we discuss this later? There’s kind of a lot going on right now,” Emma said, exasperated.

“I understand you have to arrest Regina, and I agree with that. But the rest can wait; I can’t. You’re my daughter, and I… want to talk to you. Please, just give us a few hours.”

“I- fine. We don’t have the time to argue. All of you,” she said, gesturing at their assembled group, “Especially you two,” she pointed at Rumplestiltskin and Mother Superior, “I expect to see you at the Sheriff’s station at noon, and we are going to figure out what the hell is actually going on here.”

Mr. Gold gave a single, sly nod, and the Blue Fairy, after a pleading look from Snow, nodded at well. “Wait!” Emma suddenly said, turning to Bae. “Kid. What do you want to do? Do you want to go with Ruby and Mrs. Lucas?”

“No!” the woman with Rumplestiltskin objected, “He’s coming with us!”

“Not if he doesn’t want to, lady. I don’t know if you if you know the kind of man you’ve hooked up with-”

“Belle?” Grumpy suddenly asked. “Is that you?”

“Dreamy!” She smiled at him and waved.

“Wait… _him_?” he asked, appalled.

“Yes,” she replied, “You don’t know him like I do.”

“I sure hope not,” Leroy snorted. Rumplestiltskin bristled.

“Stop!” Bae shouted. “I’m going with them. Papa knows about Pan; we need him.”

Mr. Gold said nothing, but closed his eyes for a moment in what looked to Archie like relief and no little gratitude. “You sure?” Emma asked.

Bae nodded. “Besides, he won’t hurt _me._ ”

“Of course not,” Mr. Gold said fervently.

Emma frowned. “OK. But if either of you isn’t there at noon, I’m coming for you, Gold.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded again, smiling slightly. “Understood, Sheriff.” Jiminy was in awe. 

_Emma just commanded the Dark One. She really is the Savior._

Emma led her group of warriors off to Regina’s. Ruby and Granny took Henry. Rumplestiltskin, Belle, and Bae presumably returned to Gold’s pink mansion, Bae keeping a deliberate distance from his father. August didn’t move.

“Pinocchio?” Jiminy asked, “Are you all right?”

“Hi, Jiminy,” he said with a nervous smile. “I’m f- I… I’m going to find Papa.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“I can’t… I can’t walk very fast.”

Archie put a hand on August’s shoulder; he could feel were the wood gave way to flesh. “Then we’ll go slow.”

XxXxXxX

Bae didn’t say anything as they walked back to the house; neither did his father or Belle. All around them, people were filling the streets, looking for loved ones or simply wondering what had happened. They still avoided Papa, and Belle got some wary looks as well. Bae wondered how many people thought Papa had done something to her. _Did he? She doesn’t act like it._ But Bae knew that that didn’t necessarily mean anything.

When they reached the house, Papa began, “Bae-”

“Stop. I… I just need a minute, OK?” _It’s too much; I don’t know what to do._

“OK,” Papa agreed. He turned to Belle. “Why don’t I make us some tea and find you something better to wear?”

“Coffee,” Bae said. It had already been a long day, and they hadn’t even had breakfast yet.

“I- of course.”

“Like from Agrabah?” Belle asked.

Papa smiled. “Not so far as that; it grows in this world too. Let me set the pot, and then we can have a look upstairs; there should be some dresses that will fit you.”

Belle smiled. “All right.”

“Bae, will you…?” He trailed off.

“I’ll be in the dining room.” He walked away, grabbing his backpack as he went. He collapsed at the table, just sitting for a minute, then pulled out his drawing supplies and began sketching furiously. 

XxXxXxX

As Rumplestiltskin had predicted, the coffee he’d made earlier was cold and undrinkable, so, as promised, he started a new pot. Belle watched everything with that marvelous curiously, and he explained what he was doing, pointing out all the buttons, and the contents of the cabinet were they kept the coffee and tea. “If you’d like tea, you don’t have to make a whole pot. I have individual infusers, so you can make a cup at a time.” He opened the cutlery drawer to show her.

“How clever.” She smiled.

He smiled back. “Follow me; while the coffee brews, you can get changed.”

“Rumplestiltskin, wait.”

“Yes?” he asked, concerned.

“I’m sorry.”

He blinked. “For what?”

“The kiss. Your power, I… I should have asked before I tried to break your curse. You still needed it, didn’t you? You needed it to find your son.”

“I…” That was… a gross oversimplification. But he didn’t have the courage to tell her that. “Yes,” he replied quietly. 

Her smile was radiant. He felt like a thief. “And now you’ve found him. And we can be together.”

“Belle…”

“I love you.”

His eyes filled. “Oh, Belle. I love you too.”

They embraced. She kissed him, and it was more than anything he could have imagined. “I’m sorry,” he said, as they broke apart.

“For what?”

_Everything._ “I can’t… Bae… I have to take care of him.”

“Of course.”

_You don’t understand._ “Belle… you deserve someone who can put you first,” he said tearfully. “I can’t.”

“I don’t want anyone else.”

“But Bae…”

She smiled, touching the side of his face. “Rumplestiltskin,” she said solemnly, “I refuse to be second to your power, but I would be honored to be second to your son.”

“Oh, Belle...” He kissed her again. She was miraculous, his Belle. He didn’t think he could love her more than he had, but to put Bae before herself… he had never dreamed of meeting someone who would do that. Milah had left them both, abandoned her own son because she hated Rumplestiltskin so much. Cora… Rumplestiltskin shuddered. Cora would have killed Bae just so she wouldn’t have to share Rumplestiltskin’s attention. But Belle, she was everything Milah and Cora had never been. _I knew it. They’ll love each other; I just have to get rid of Pan and we can have everything._

_Pan._

He shuddered again. 

Belle must have felt it. “Rumple?” she asked, concerned.

Not wanting to discuss Pan just yet, he deflected. He kissed her again, briefly and said, “Come; let’s find you something better to wear.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her shapeless hospital gown and knotty sweater. “That would be nice.” 

He took her hand and led her upstairs. Eagerly, she followed.

“I warn you,” he said as they were on the staircase, “This room is a bit… cluttered.” 

“Clutter? You? I can hardly believe it,” she teased.

He stopped. “Ah, well…” he mumbled sheepishly.

“Rumple,” she said, putting her hand on his, “It’s all right. I never minded the clutter.”

_No, you minded the Monster, and he’s still right here._ He couldn’t say that, of course. “Come along,” he said after a moment.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as he opened the door to the bedroom at the end of the hall. 

“I, ah, did warn you.” The room was beyond cluttered. It had become a storage room for all the detritus Bae and Rumplestiltskin had removed from the rooms they had cleaned. Considering how crowded those rooms had been, there was barely room to move once it had all be gathered into one space.

But Rumplestiltskin knew exactly what he was looking for. He carefully picked his way over to an antique armoire, and opened it to reveal a selection of dresses, all close to Belle’s size. He suspected Regina had had the curse place them there as a reminder of his failure, even if Mr. Gold could not remember why they made his chest ache with guilt.

He was right in his recollection that there were no shoes, but the white kitten heels Belle was wearing (obviously not hospital issue - whoever had freed her must have given them to her) would match the white and yellow sundress nicely. “How pretty!” she said, taking it when he held it out to her.

“Much better than what you have on, anyway. I’ve a sweater if you get cold.” A soft grey, cashmere button-up. Not exactly one of her colors, but it would be soft and warm. And he had to admit - at least to himself - that the thought of her in his clothing was terribly attractive.

“That would be lovely, thank you.”

He showed her the bathroom, and she was delighted by the claw foot tub. “Oh! They do have bathtubs here!”

“I… yes.” _No baths for prisoners held beneath the hospital. Only freezing cold showers, I’m sure._ If Rumplestiltskin hadn’t made that deal with Bae, Regina would already be dead. He’d been hoping the mob would take care of her for him, but he should not have underestimated the Savior’s influence (or nobility). As it stood, he would have to find other ways to punish her. _Or wait until she makes her next move; Bae didn’t specify what I had to ‘stop’ her from doing after all, and he wouldn’t mind me interceding on Emma or Snow’s behalf._

“Take your time. I’m sure I can find a hairbrush while you change.”

She smiled. “Rumple. I…”

“Yes?”

She kissed him again. “Thank you.”

“Oh, Belle.” _You deserve more than this. You deserve everything I can give you. And everything I can’t._ “I… I love you.”

She smiled, and he thought he could die happy if he could see that smile every day for the rest of his life. “I love you too.”

XxXxXxX

Bae didn’t know who Belle was, but she’d already shown more consideration for him than his own mother had. He didn’t imagine she meant for him to overhear her conversation with his father, but he had, and he couldn’t help comparing it to what his mother had done. It hurt, even if it shouldn’t after everything else that had happened.

Wiping away tears, Bae considered what else she’d said. “ _I refuse to be second to your power_ ”. Papa chose power over Bae when he let him fall though that portal. It was only a matter of time before he did it again.

Wasn’t it? _And what was that about a kiss?_

Bae took out his house key, and looked at the bit of cut pipe still attached to it. He remembered their attempt to destroy the dagger; that was something he never would have expected. _Did he mean it, or did he know it wouldn’t work? And the tree - what did he mean by that?_

After arriving in Neverland, Bae’s determination to never forgive his father had waned; he swore that if only his Papa would come for him, he would give him a second chance. As the years had - well, not exactly ‘passed’, time does not ‘pass’ in Neverland. Accumulated? - Bae’s resentment had flourished all over again. Over time, he’d begun to give up on his father and started trying to escape the island on his own. He’d developed some theories about the Shadow, but none had worked out before a cloud of purple smoke had chased him and Tinker Bell through the jungle one day, ultimately catching him and bringing him to Storybrooke. _Tink said it was a curse - was it Regina’s doing? Or Papa’s?_

_Papa said he’s been looking for me all this time._ Had he? Given how long he’d been in Neverland, Bae had become convinced that the Dark One had to have known where he was if he’d cared to, _but he sounded so shocked. Did he really not know?_

As much as Bae did not want to, they had to talk. They had to save Henry from Pan, and maybe, just maybe, they could talk about the rest as well. Bae rolled the bit of pipe between his fingers. 

_I’m glad Belle is here._

XxXxXxX

The force of his memories returning had nearly knocked Geppetto off his feet.

_The curse._

_Pinocchio._

_I have to find him!_

He’d almost called Archie - _Jiminy_ \- before remembering how disappointed his friend had been that he had sent Pinocchio through the wardrobe. _He won’t help._

Then he thought of August Booth. _Could it be? Is he my boy?_ His hair was the wrong color, but the way he worked with wood was so familiar. _And his father asked him to make a promise he couldn’t keep._

_Oh, my boy; he must have been so alone._ Unfortunately, Geppetto didn’t have August’s phone number or know where he was staying. _Granny’s maybe?_

And he was ashamed.

_What if he hates me?_

_He wouldn’t have sought me out if he did._

_If he is even my boy at all._

_What should I do?_

Too flustered to think of anything else, Geppetto made a pot of coffee. If August was indeed Pinocchio, he knew where to look for him. And if he did come looking, Geppetto would be waiting. 

XxXxXxX

They walked one slow, painful block before Jiminy asked if August wanted him to call his father. 

“He might leave the workshop to look for you,” Jiminy explained when August was hesitant.

“I… OK.” August just hoped Papa wouldn’t want Jiminy to hand him the phone. He couldn’t do this over the phone; in person was going to be bad enough.

Jiminy smiled at him and took out his phone. “Mar- Geppetto?... yes… I’m with Pinocchio; he wants to see you…” Jiminy smiled sadly. “Yes, yes, he does. Are you at the workshop?... Stay there; we will be there in a few minutes… it’s good to hear your voice too, my friend.”

“Is he… OK?”

“He misses you; he’s happy you want to see him.”

August frowned. “Of course I want to see him. Why would he think I wouldn’t?”

“I don’t think he really did; I think he was just afraid.” _I’m afraid. What the hell am I going to say to him?_

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Near silence - August could hear his limbs creaking, and he assumed everyone else could hear it too. They were getting some odd looks, even if most people were too caught up in their own family tragedies to notice their slow trek through town. He tucked his wooden hand under his right arm, hiding it as best he could. _Did Blue really allow all of this to happen? How could she do that? Why would she do that?_

August stopped when the workshop came into view. His father was waiting for them outside, pacing and worrying his hat in his hands. Papa. “Pinocchio?” Jiminy asked. “Are you all right?”

August nodded jerkily. _But that’s a lie, isn’t it? Is it? I don’t know._ In any case, his right arm didn’t turn back into wood. 

His father turned and saw them. Neither of them moved. Eventually, August asked, “Father?” his voice breaking on just that single word.

“Pinocchio,” Papa said, tears trailing down his weathered cheeks.

They both started walking, stopping just in front of one another. Papa reached out his hand, stopping just short of August’s cheek. “Oh, my boy; can you ever forgive me?”

“What?”

“What I made you promise; I should have thought…. It was too much for a little boy.”

August shook his head. “No, no; it was my fault. I chose to run away.”

“You were just a little boy,” his father protested.

August laughed brokenly. “Not for a long time, Papa. I should have come back.”

Suddenly, Papa hugged him tightly, sobbing, “You did; you did come back.”

Overwhelmed, August simply began sobbing himself, instinctively laying his head on his father’s shoulder, bringing up his one human hand to hug him back. Papa began rocking him slightly, as if he still were that little boy. Maybe he was.

XxXxXxX

Rumple fetched Belle a brush - and a wonderfully soft grey sweater - while she changed into the yellow dress. It was shorter than anything Belle had worn before, but she’s seen that several of the women they’d passed on the street were dressed similarly, and she trusted Rumple not to give her something inappropriate for this new world. She laughed to herself. _I did always want to see strange, far away places; I couldn’t have imagined a place as strange as this._

She was still a bit shaky, of course. She’s remained defiant in Regina’s dungeon up until the curse, but these past twenty-eight years had been nothing but four white walls and a nebulous, choking fear. _Well, now Regina will see what it is to be locked up._

Belle was so glad - and proud - that Rumple hadn’t gone after Regina himself; he was such a different person here. Belle smiled. _I knew it._ He led her back down the stairs, taking her arm once they reached the ground floor, and escorting her into the dining room. Bae was in the kitchen, but he’d left a book on the table; it was open to a half-drawn map of an island Belle presumed was Neverland.

“Bae?” Rumple called out timidly.

“Getting coffee,” the boy responded dully.

“Would you like some?” Rumple asked her. “Or tea?”

“Tea would be lovely; thank you.”

“Of course,” he smiled. “Would you like something to eat as well?”

She was hungry. It was no wonder, considering she hadn’t eaten since the night before and had run and walked a considerable distance in the past couple of hours. _And found Rumplestiltskin. And kissed him._ That was her favorite part. “If it’s no trouble.” 

Rumple took her hands and kissed them. “No trouble at all. Let me show you the toaster oven. Would you like breakfast, Bae?”

“I’ll get it myself.”

“It’s no trouble, I’ll-”

Bae glared at him, angry. “Don’t.”

“I… of course, Bae.”

“Bae,” Belle scolded, “Your father’s just trying to-”

“Belle,” Rumplestiltskin said sharply; she jumped. He put his hands up apologetically. “Sorry! I’m sorry, but you don’t… you don’t understand. He has reason to be angry with me.”

“Damn right. He _abandoned_ me,” Bae accused.

“That… Rumple?”

There were tears in his brown eyes. “It’s true, Belle. I made a wrong choice once, long ago, but I’ve spent every moment since then trying to find a way back. I’m so _sorry_ , Bae.”

“Are you?”

“ _Yes._ ”

Bae looked away. “Did you really try to destroy the dagger?”

Rumple froze, then nodded quickly. “Yes. I did not know it could not be destroyed in this world, Bae, I swear.”

“What did you do with it? We talked about burying it, but we never did.”

“I did bury it. Without your memories, it was too much of a risk for you to know where; if Regina learned of it…”

“What could she have done? Does it work here? Did Reul Ghorm lie about that too?”

Rumple shook his head. “No, not about that; I have no power here, just as she promised you. But the dagger clearly does; at least enough to protect itself. And with that… I’m not sure what magic Regina used to get a hold of the sleeping curse she placed on Henry, but I am certain it was weaker than the dagger. I can only imagine what kind of mischief she could have gotten up to with it.”

“Wait, sleeping curse? Is that why they came here last night?” Bae demanded.

Rumple nodded. “Yes. She meant it for Emma, but Henry figured out her plan and took it on himself. Emma breaking that curse broke the larger one that Regina used to bring us all here.”

“Which took away our memories.”

“Yes.”

Bae narrowed his eyes. “But not yours.”

“No, I was affected as well, but back in the Enchanted Forest I made a deal with Snow White for her child’s name. The first time I heard it in this land - the night before I found you - Regina’s hold over me broke, and I remembered.”

“So you were as cursed as the rest of us?”

“Until Miss Swan arrived, yes.”

“Why did Regina do this?”

“For revenge. Against the world in general, but especially Snow White.”

“Mary Margaret?”

“Yes.”

Bae looked troubled, but thoughtful. Rumple watched him for a moment, his face open and his eyes pleading. “Belle,” Bae suddenly said, clearly wanting his father’s attention to be directed elsewhere, “Have you ever had Nutella?”

“I don’t know. What is it?”

“A chocolate and hazelnut spread; you’d know if you’d had it.”

“Then no,” she said with a smile. He was right; she would certainly remember something like that among the bland, gritty food she’d been given in the hospital.

“You should try it.”

And he fled into the dining room.


	3. Moving Forward

Rumplestiltskin watched Bae go, taking his coffee into the dining room and returning to his sketching. Rumplestiltskin had seen the map he’d started; he knew they had to talk about Pan sooner rather than later, but he dreaded that conversation for so many reasons. _At least he’s willing to listen, and he knows I was willing to destroy the dagger._ It was something, at least.

Belle took his arm, offering comfort. Rumplestiltskin smiled at her. “What kind of tea would you like?”

“Anything is fine. You know how I take it.”

“Yes, I do.” And so he selected a tea he knew she would enjoy (very similar to one she had favored back in the Dark Castle but just different enough to be interesting), showing her the layout of the cabinets, the stovetop and kettle, and finally the toaster oven, as promised. 

“I think you must like this world,” she said.

“Why is that?”

“Because it’s cluttered,” she laughed. “So many… devices.”

“I… I suppose so.” 

“I’m only teasing,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Show me more.”

He kissed her temple. “Of course, sweetheart.” The fridge was next, and he offered to make her eggs to go with the toast. In truth, he was rather hungry himself, and whatever Bae had said, Rumplestiltskin would have breakfast ready for him if he changed his mind.

She accepted the offer of eggs, and Rumplestiltskin cooked while she continued to explore the kitchen, setting the table for three. Her optimism was not rewarded. When she invited Bae to join them he waved her off, waiting until they had started eating before fixing something for himself. He steadfastly ignored the extra eggs Rumplestiltskin had made, and stood at the counter to eat. He finished first, conscientiously rinsing his dishes and putting them in the washer before refilling his coffee and retreating to the dining room. He didn’t say a word. Belle took Rumplestiltskin’s hand, but didn’t say anything either. It was probably for the best. 

Once they were done (Rumplestiltskin was insistent that Belle eat her fill; between them they finished off the eggs Bae didn’t want) they cleared the table and he showed her the dishwasher.

She laughed. “It’s a wonder there is any work to be done in the world at all; there’s a machine for everything!”

Rumplestiltskin smiled. “Not quite everything, but for more things than I could ever have anticipated. But, of course, that just means there is work to be done building and maintaining the machines.”

“And who does that? Do you?”

He chuckled. While he was a decent hand at purely mechanical devices, anything that ran on electricity was beyond his ken. As long as it worked, he left it alone; if it did not, he called a professional. “No, not me. As for who, it depends on the device. There are people who just maintain cars, for example, and others for appliances, others for computers, and so on.”

“Cars? Appliances? Computers?”

He grimaced. “Ah, cars are the primary vehicle used here; you saw some in use on our way back from the hospital.”

“Oh, yes! Like carriages, but metal, and without horses. Do they not run on magic?”

“No. There is very little magic here, and none that I know of that originated in this world. This world runs on technology, cars being one of the more influential inventions. Appliances are all these devices I’ve shown you just now, and many more. And computers are… well, they are the key to most of the technology that is now in use. They can be used for communication, for calculation, and they can control other devices. I can show you, or Bae can, if he would like. He’s more familiar with them by now than I am.”

“I will ask him.”

“But first… we must talk about Pan.”

“I know.” 

But he didn’t move; he couldn’t. After a moment, Bae called from the dining room, “Well? What are you waiting for?” He didn’t look up when they walked in.

_He’s as frightened as I am,_ Rumplestiltskin realized. It was a sobering thought. Bae had never been afraid - not for himself - but he was now. Rumplestiltskin was going to _kill_ Pan for that, and so much more. He embraced his anger; he was going to need it to battle the fear. If he gave his fear purchase, he knew, he would drown in it. 

Walking into the dining room, Rumplestiltskin pulled out a chair for Belle, then sat down next to her, finally working up the courage to ask, “Bae?”

“Can you stop Pan?” Bae asked abruptly, his gaze challenging.

“For you Bae? Yes, yes I can. But I am going to need help.”

“Emma?”

“Yes. And perhaps her father’s as well. But most importantly, I need your blessing, Bae.”

“To kill Pan? Yes.”

“What? No!” Belle objected, “You don’t have to kill people, Rumple-”

“Pan is not a person,” Bae said, “He’s a monster.”

“He’s right,” Rumplestiltskin explained. “I knew Pan back…. back when he was human. What he is now… death is the only thing that will stop him. And for that, Bae, I’m going to need magic. I have a way to bring magic into this world-”

“WHAT?!” Bae snarled, jumping to his feet, his chair clattering to the floor. “You… you lied! You weren’t going to destroy the dagger after all-”

“No!” Rumplestiltskin protested, “I did try, Bae, I did! Back in the Enchanted Forest, I thought I would need this magic to find you. When I found you, I knew I didn’t need it anymore. I did try to destroy the dagger, and I did not bring the magic as I originally planned to. But the Shadow; it changes everything! I can’t protect you without magic.”

“You can’t protect me with it; I think we learned that already!”

“Bae-”

“No! If you bring magic here, it will be like before; it _changed_ you, Papa! And after everything, you still want it back, don’t you?”

“I-” He couldn’t lie to his boy, especially not about this. “I need to protect you, Bae.”

“I’ve seen what you do when you’re ‘protecting’ me with magic. No!”

“Perhaps there’s another way?” Belle offered.

Heart breaking, Rumplestiltskin shook his head, “There is no way to fight Pan or his Shadow without magic.”

“But what about using the magic in a different way? Maybe there is a way to put the magic in an object, instead of in you? Like an enchanted sword?”

“Yes!” Bae jumped on the idea immediately. “Or a prison - something we could trap the Shadow in.”

“The magic needed for an object like that is incompatible with the source magic I have collected. In this pure form, it can only be used defensively.”

“What about a barrier, then?” Belle asked. “You wouldn’t have to kill it or Pan, just keep it away from everyone.”

“No,” Bae said, “Not everyone: Henry.”

“Henry?” Rumplestiltskin asked in surprise.

“Yes. He’s something called the Truest Believer. Pan has been looking for him since before he took me.”

“How do you know that it’s Henry?”

“He had his picture. He compares every Lost Boy to it when they’re brought to him.”

“Do you know what Pan wants him for?”

Bae shook his head. “No, but I know he wants his heart. It can’t be anything good.”

“No, of course not,” Rumplestiltskin mumbled distractedly. _The Truest Believer? What is that?_ He didn’t know the title, but he knew heart magic, and the heart of a young boy, filled with love and belief… _What would Pan want with eternal youth? He already has it. Unless…_

_The prophecy._

Rumplestiltskin had thought for a time that, despite what the Seer had said, he’d avoided that little problem. No boy had led him to his son, after all; he’d found him himself, stumbling upon him on his way to Regina’s. _But I wouldn’t have recognized him without Miss Swan, and Henry brought her here. And if the puppet is correct, the curse itself was contrived to bring about Henry’s birth, and the curse brought Bae and I together._

_Henry will be my undoing._

Rumplestiltskin didn’t want to kill Henry. In truth, he rather liked the lad, who was so much like Bae had been at that age. And there was no doubt in his mind that neither Bae nor Belle would ever forgive him if harmed Henry, even if it was to preserve his own life. _Must this always be my choice? My life or my son’s regard?_

“Papa,” Bae said, wrenching Rumplestiltskin back to the present, “ _Please._ You said you could do this.”

“I… yes.” Rumplestiltskin stared. Bae was still terrified, he could see, and angry - so, so angry - but beneath that… _Hope. He has hope I can save Henry. He’s willing to listen to me because he thinks I might be able to do this._ “Just let me think a moment, Bae.”

Rumplestiltskin looked at Belle. She smiled and took his hand. “I know there’s a way, Rumple; I know you can do this without giving in to the darkness.” _Faith. She has faith in me._

Could he kill that faith and that hope, just to preserve his own life? 

_No._

Rumplestiltskin was greedy. He’d always known that. For over two and a half centuries, he’d told himself it would be enough to find his son and tell him he was sorry. He’s hoped - oh, how he’d hoped - that Bae would some day forgive him, but he’d never truly believed it would happen. Now that it looked like it possibly might, he couldn’t risk losing that chance. 

And Belle. He had never would have imagined he could have someone like Belle. He’d never expected the love of any woman; even Cora had been enough of a surprise to throw his plans off kilter (Really, fathering the caster of the curse? What had he been thinking? He never would have been able to do that to his own child.). But Belle? Belle was amazing. She was perfect. And she _believed_ in him.

Bae and Belle. The only people in his life that meant anything, and they were both here, asking him to do the right thing, believing that he possibly could. _If I kill Henry I will lose them. I don’t_ want _to kill Henry. So what do I do?_

_Pan. Pan is the threat, Henry only the means. If I can protect Henry, I can save myself._

_But how, without my magic?_

“Bae,” Rumplestiltskin asked, “Can Pan himself travel to this world, or only his Shadow?”

“Only his Shadow. Pan can’t travel to any other worlds anymore.”

“He can’t? Not even the Enchanted Forest?”

Bae shook his head. “He was angry about it. He sends out a pirate crew when he needs something, and he can’t send them here; only the Shadow.” Rumplestiltskin noticed how Baelfire tensed when he mentioned the pirates, but considering what he thought they had done to his mother, and what they were apparently doing for Pan, is was no surprise. Rumplestiltskin thought briefly of the bean and what Jones might have done with it, but that ruled him out as Pan’s lackey more than anything. Only an utter fool would willingly go to Neverland after Pan had claimed it, and if he were captured and brought there by force, Jones could use the bean to escape.

“Do you know why?”

Bae shook his head. “No. I thought… I thought it might have been you. Or Reul Ghorm.”

Rumplestiltskin felt cold. “It wasn’t me. Bae, I swear, if I’d had any idea you were in Neverland-”

“Stop. I can’t talk about that right now. We just have to stop Pan. Can’t you think of something? You always have a plan!”

“Let me think.” _What could trap Pan in Neverland? He still has power if he can send his Shadow and a pirate ship to other realms._ “Did he lose any other abilities that you know of? The pipe? Flying?”

Bae looked thoughtful. “He barely flies any more, but I thought that was because he was running out of pixie dust.”

_Running out of pixie dust? Neverland makes its own pixie dust. Unless…_

And then everything clicked. “I know what to do,” Rumplestiltskin said.

XxXxXxX

Despite the modern(ish) appliances, his father’s kitchen - indeed, his whole house - was so familiar that it was all August could do to keep from breaking down again. For twenty-eight years he’d missed his father - missed _home_ \- so much that it had never stopped hurting, but seeing everything again, the hand-carved furniture, the toys, even the mantel in the living room… it was overwhelming.

“Are you all right?” Jiminy asked again.

August wished he would stop asking that. He couldn’t lie, and the truth was that he wasn’t; he wasn’t sure he would ever be. But he didn’t want to tell anyone that, especially where Papa could hear. His father felt guilty enough - _another thing that’s all my fault._ “I… I just need a minute.”

“Of course,” Jiminy said, “Just rest here. I’ll set the table.”

Papa was making breakfast. August would have liked to help (just for something to do other than stare at things that brought back way too many memories) but he was exhausted, in pain, and only had one working hand. He was more likely to break something than be of any use. 

Not that Papa’s breakfasts were terribly complicated. Bread, jam, cheese, and coffee; other than the coffee, it was almost exactly the same thing they’d had every morning in the Enchanted Forest. “Do you drink coffee?” Papa asked.

“Yes,” August said with a self-depreciating laugh; he’d practically lived off the stuff these last few months. “Milk, no sugar. Please.”

Papa smiled. “Of course.”

Jiminy set the plates down, followed by napkins, knives and forks, all neatly arranged in their proper place. “Thank you,” August mumbled, remembering the cricket scolding him as a child for not bothering to set the table properly when he’d been asked.

“You’re welcome,” Jiminy said. “Everything’s going to be all right; you’ll see.”

“Yes, yes,” Papa said, “We’re together now; that’s what matters. We can fix this. You’re going to be all right, Pinocchio.”

August wished he were so sure. _How long until I screw up again? Or will I just be stuck like this forever?_ He doubted that there’d be many more chances like he’d had today, after all. _How many decades old, life-changing secrets do I have left to share anyway?_

He’d already come clean on two of the three biggest mistakes he had made in his life, and no way in hell was he telling Jiminy, Papa, or anyone else that he’d stolen money from a woman dying of cancer in order to save his own ass. It didn’t matter that she’d got the potion in the end; what he’d done was unforgivable, and he’d known that when he’d done it. _She was right; I do deserve this._

Papa set August’s coffee down in front of him, then clasped his shoulder fondly. “Eat now; you’re too thin, Pinocchio.”

“I’m built just like you,” August protested. Papa and Jiminy both started at him. “Ah, no pun intended,” he said ruefully, and after a moment they all burst out laughing, though August knew it was more from stress than anything.

“Ah, but I am old, and you are young,” Papa scolded once he stopped snickering, “Eat.”

August wanted to say ‘you’re not old, Papa’, but that would be a lie. At thirty-five, August now looked like he could be Geppetto’s son instead of his grandson, but that was only an accident of the curse - _no, not an accident; Blue’s plan._ Without it, it was very unlikely his father would ever have lived to see him this age. _How much time do we really have together?_ Subdued, August could only answer, “Yes, Papa,” and helped himself to some bread and cheese. 

“Do you not like jam anymore?” Papa asked, “Grape was your favorite.”

“I… uh…” Involuntarily, August’s eyes flicked down to his left arm, propped limply on his left leg.

“Oh!” Papa looked horrified. “Of course! I’m sorry!” But instead of just removing the lid from the jar as August had expected, Papa took his knife and spread the jam on August’s bread himself. “Anything you need,” he said anxiously, “You just tell me.”

“Oh, Papa, you don’t have to do that-”

“Yes, I do! This is my fault!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is! I should have listened to Jiminy and the Blue Fairy-”

“No!” August said, suddenly remembering that his father had no idea what Blue had really done. “You did exactly what she wanted you to. I did exactly what she wanted me to.” _And look where it got me. Did she plan this? Did she… did she want me to die so I could never tell Emma what she asked me to do?_

“What do you mean?”

“She… she planned this. All of this. She wanted Henry - Emma’s son - to be born and to be adopted by the Evil Queen. That never would have happened of Queen Snow had come though the wardrobe instead of me. And she knew that Rumplestiltskin was behind all of this; she could have stopped him but didn’t.”

“That… that can’t be true…”

“I’m not lying, Papa, I’m not! You’d know if I was.”

“No, no; of course you’re not lying, but maybe you’ve misunderstood-”

“I am not misunderstanding this! Jiminy, you were there! She admitted that she didn’t tell Rumplestiltskin about the tree because ‘it wasn’t meant for him’. She could’ve- she could’ve had someone else make the wardrobe if she didn’t want me to take the second spot. She… she… God, Papa, if she’d just called me earlier! Or since! She let me do this to myself and never said a word!”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not making this up, Papa. Please, you have to believe me!”

“I believe you, I believe you. Just tell me what you mean, ‘she let you do this’?”

“She called me. Eleven years ago. She made me… she told me to send Emma to jail, Papa. She knew she was pregnant and didn’t tell me. And she never…” August looked down at his wooden hand. “I would have listened to her. If she’d told me to come back sooner, I’d have done it.”

“You did do it,” Jiminy said. “You said you’d been looking for Emma for two years before that, right?” August nodded. “A when she called you to help Emma, you did what she asked. That’s what she told you you were doing, right? Helping her?”

“Yes,” he replied meekly. There was more to it than that, of course. It wasn’t just about keeping Emma off a dark path; it was keeping her on the path of breaking the curse. It was about keeping his promise to Papa and someday seeing him again. And not letting an entire world of people die because of him. At the time, that call from Blue had seemed like salvation - his second chance to earn his place in the wardrobe, just like he’d had to earn the right to be a real boy. He’d squandered both, in the end, but had that been Blue’s plan all along too? It seemed like it. August felt sick.

“Papa, she wanted this. It wasn’t you fault.”

“Why? Why would she do this?”

“For Henry. He was always going to be the one who helped Emma break the curse. As for why the curse? I don’t know. Maybe she’ll tell us at Emma’s meeting.” _Fat chance._

“Meeting?”

“We all need to be at the Sherriff’s station by noon,” Jiminy explained, “To get to the bottom of everything that’s happened.”

“Papa, you need to know… I already told them about the wardrobe. Emma, and Queen Snow, and the Prince.”

Papa gripped the back of August’s neck. “Good. They should know what I did.”

“They should know everything. But Blue already tried to blame it all on you once; I don’t know what else she’ll say.”

“Yes,” Jiminy said. “Everything needs to come out into the open. Don’t be frightened, Pinocchio; you’re doing the right thing. Whatever the Blue Fairy has done - and Regina, and Rumplestiltskin - it can’t be addressed until we get to the truth of the matter.”

“I’m not imagining this,” August repeated. He was sick to death of people thinking he was either lying or crazy, and he’d lost his one true defense mechanism against that - the ability to actually lie. 

“Of course not,” Jiminy said. “You are right; I was there. And what I heard concerned me. Whatever the truth is, if you share it, I will believe you.”

“Me too,” Papa said, putting an arm around him. 

“Thank you,” August mumbled. He knew it didn’t deserve it, but it meant everything to have someone believe in him again.

XxXxXxX

Knowing what she did about Bae and August, and Hansel and Gretel, and most of the people whose stories had been in the Book, Emma knew that what she was dealing with wasn’t half as bad as what most of the town was probably dealing with, but that didn’t make it any better. She was angry, dammit, and she had a right to be. But try telling that to Mary Margaret; it was all “we need to forgive” and “you can’t give in to your hate, Emma”. Emma wasn’t even interested in any kind of revenge, but she was allowed to be pissed, damn it! Her entire life had apparently been one giant chess game between Rumplestiltskin and the Blue Fairy, and she wasn’t going to let them do the same to Henry.

At least it was nearly noon, and she’d finally get some answers. She deserved that, at the very least; all of them did. Emma supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised to find Gold, his new girlfriend ( _Really, someone is actually in love with Gold? There was that story in the Book, but it didn’t end well. Is she the same girl?_ ), and Bae waiting outside the Sheriff’s Station when she got there with Henry, Mary Margaret, David, and the Lucases (the ‘dwarves’ had gone off for a celebratory drink after they’d taken Regina in, but they had assured Mary Margaret that they would be back by noon).

“You ready to give me some answers, Gold?”

“More than, Sheriff,” he said with a mocking bow, and the woman with him (now much better dressed and with freshly-combed hair) scolded him.

“Rumple, be nice.”

Emma snorted. “Forget ‘nice’. Be straight with me; that’s all I want.”

“I will endeavor to do my best,” he said, still smirking. It was as honest an answer as she could imagine him capable of.

“I’ll take it,” she muttered, ushering everyone inside.

In addition to the interrogation room, there was a large conference room in the basement of the Sheriff’s station. Emma directed everyone down there. It would be a tight fit, she knew, but she was more comfortable on her own turf, and she didn’t want to be across town if someone decided Regina either needed letting out or stringing up.

The dwarves were next to arrive, followed (just a bit after noon) by August, Archie, and Marco. “Sorry we’re late,” August mumbled, “We had to go back to the inn to get this.” He placed a book on the table.

“What’s that?” Henry asked eagerly. 

“My journal. All the notes I’ve made since I’ve been in town, plus some stuff about the Apprentice and the Dragon.”

“Good,” Emma said, “The more info the better.”

“Can I see?” Henry asked.

“Ah, sure,” August said, “But you won’t be able to read much of it.”

“Is it in code?” Henry was practically bouncing at the idea.

“Not code, per se, but bits of different languages that I know. I didn’t want Regina reading it.”

“Of course not!” August slid the book over to Henry then tried to shrug off his motorcycle jacket. He was having some trouble, and Marco jumped to help him.

“Thank you, Papa,” August said quietly, head low in embarrassment. Under his jacket, he’d apparently changed into a t-shirt, and Emma could see the wood of both of his arms - the left in its entirety and the right down to the elbow. 

“Just so everyone knows I’m telling the truth,” he said when he caught her (and half the room) staring.

Emma nodded, but August was not the one she was worried about. Gold was bad enough, but Mother Superior was her real concern; her lies combined with her reputation for unwavering goodness made her especially dangerous, and unlike Gold, Emma had no idea why she’d done what she’d done. Or what she would do next. 

Apparently, showing up on time wasn’t part of her plan. Henry, at least, didn’t mind, as he was fawning over August’s journal, which, Emma had to admit, really did look like it was written in code.

“Wow, August, how many languages do you know?”

“Uh, fluently? Just English and Tai. But I can hold a conversation in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese. And I know bits and pieces of others.” Henry was gaping, and even Emma had to admit she was impressed.

“How many others?”

“Uh, I don’t know. A dozen?” Ruby cocked a disbelieving eyebrow, but August’s arm didn’t turn back to wood, so he had to be telling the truth. Emma supposed you could pick up a lot, traveling as much as August had. She didn’t really resent (much) that he’d been traveling around for most of the time he was supposed to be ‘guiding’ her to break the curse - was somewhat relived, in fact, as she couldn’t imagine having that hanging over her head her entire life - but she did have to admit that she was pretty pissed about the jail thing. If he tried to give her the same ‘forgiveness’ speech Mary Margret had, she might just have to deck him. He’d apologized, but that didn’t just make everything magically better like Mary Margaret seemed to think. 

“And who’s Tim?” Henry asked. “I don’t remember him from the Book. And Mickey.”

“Ah,” August looked at the table. “That is code, I guess. That’s what I’ve been calling the Sorcerer and the Apprentice.”

Gold choked, then started laughing. “You call the Sorcerer _Tim_?”

“Is that from something?” Emma asked, “It sounds familiar.”

August grinned sheepishly. “Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And Mickey is from Fantasia, of course.”

Gold chuckled again. “Why is that funny?” Emma asked. “It’s the only version of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice I know. It is the same guy, right?”

“Oh, yes. The broom incident even happened. He was also briefly a mouse.”

“Let me guess. You?”

Bae gave his father a sharp glare, and Gold immediately sobered. “He, ah, got better,” he replied lamely, and August and some of the ‘dwarves’ started snickering. Bae did not look happy, but before he could say anything, Mary Margaret decided to make introductions. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” she said to Gold’s girl. “I’m Snow White. Or Mary Margaret, if you prefer.”

“Nice to meet you,” the girl said, standing to take Mary Margaret’s hand across the table. “I’m Belle.”

“Wait, Belle? Let me guess, that makes you the Beast?” Emma asked Gold.

“I’ve been given less… accurate titles.”

“I’ll say,” Leroy snorted. Ruby and Granny snickered. 

“Of course he is,” Henry said, “It’s in the Book, Emma, remember? Only it doesn’t give Belle’s name. Or actually call Rumplestiltskin the Beast.”

“There’s a book about us?” Belle asked Gold.

“Not just us, dear,” Gold explained. “I believe Henry is in possession of one the Author’s legendary Books.”

“Oh! I’ve read about them. Even you didn’t have one! Did you?”

Gold shook his head. “I did not. The realm I was interested in… the Author does not write about it.”

“This realm,” Belle said.

“Yes.”

“That’s as good an opening as any,” Emma broke in; patience was not one of her virtues. “Since Mother Superior hasn’t shown up yet, I’m starting with you, Gold. We have questions.”

“Of course you do. Ask away.”

“Wait,” David said, “What’s your price? There always is one with you.”

“True enough. My price is this: your daughter’s assistance - and possibly yours as well - with a little matter. I have a plan to protect everyone from Pan, but it requires something I’m going to need help retrieving.”

“‘Protect everyone’? Since when do you care about that?”

“Since Bae, Belle, and myself are included under the classification of ‘everyone’,” Gold said dryly. 

“Please,” Bae said, “Listen to him. Pan is a threat to everyone, but most especially Henry.”

“Me?”

“Henry?” Emma demanded, “What does he want with Henry? And what’s the story with Pan anyway? I thought he was supposed to be a good guy.”

“No,” Bae said. “Pan is monster.”

“Worse than him?” Leroy asked, pointing at Gold.

“Yes,” Bae said without hesitation. Gold looked down.

“What does he want with Henry?” Emma repeated.

“He calls him the Truest Believer. He wants his heart. I don’t know what for,” Bae answered.

“Gold? You’re supposed to be the magical expert.”

“I cannot say for certain, but I have a theory.”

“And it is?”

“This I know; Pan’s magic comes from not himself, but the land he has claimed.”

“Neverland.”

“Yes. His Shadow is the conduit between him and the island. But the island was never meant to sustain people the way Pan is forcing it to; from what Bae tells me, I believe that Pan has burned though most of the magic of the island, and he needs more, or he will lose his youth and his power.”

“And you think he can use Henry’s heart to, what, recharge his power?”

“That’s my theory. If you like, feel free to ask Reul Ghorm if she is familiar with the term ‘Truest Believer’; I had never heard it before, and fairy magic, even more than other magic of the Enchanted Forest, is dependent on belief. Then again, her motives are suspect, and her credibility… questionable.”

“What could she do with Henry’s heart?” August asked, looking horrified.

“Oh, nothing. Not unless she is more duplicitous than even I credit; heart magic is inherently dark, and using it would harm her.”

“So what’s your plan?” Emma asked.

“My plan is to construct two barriers around Storybrooke, one inside the other. The Shadow will be able to pass though the first, but only in this direction. Once trapped, we can attempt to destroy it-”

“Rumple,” Belle said in a disappointed tone.

“The Shadow is not a person, sweetheart; destroying it is the most reliable way to stop Pan.”

“Hm, we’ll get back to that,” Emma said, “Continue what you were saying.”

“Yes. Without the Shadow, Pan will lose his power. He won’t even have the magic necessary to perform whatever spell he’s intending to use Henry’s heart for, let alone travel to this world to retrieve it.”

“OK, and how do you intend to construct this barrier? It sounds like magic, Gold, and you told me you didn’t have any.”

“I don’t; not readily accessible. But I do have a source hidden away; it’s enough to fuel the barriers indefinitely.”

“You couldn’t have mentioned that last night?”

“I could have, but the solution I actually gave you was the best for the problem at hand.”

“Henry almost died!”

“He was fated not to.”

“Oh, don’t give me that!”

“It’s true, Miss Swan. You were fated to break the curse. I admit that I did not See the exact circumstances until they occurred, but I knew when I sent you on your way that you would break both curses with True Love’s Kiss.”

Emma was about to tear Gold a new one when Mother Superior finally arrived. “I see that in addition to truthfulness, punctuality is not among your virtues, dearie,” Gold snarked.

The nun ignored him. “I believe you requested my council,” she said to Emma.

“Yeah, take a seat. What do you know about the Truest Believer?”

The nun blinked. “The Truest Believer?” _Oh, she definitely knows about this._

“Yes. Bae tells us that Pan wants Henry’s heart because he’s the Truest Believer. Gold has a theory about why, but I want to know what you know about it.”

“I see. And what is this theory?”

“No dice, lady. Your story first, then we’ll compare them.”

“Emma,” Mary Margaret scolded, “This is the Blue Fairy-”

“Who has personally screwed me over even more than he has,” she said, jerking her head towards Gold. “I don’t trust her, and I’m not going to kiss her butt-”

“Emma!”

Mother Superior smiled, and Emma did not miss the condescension in her expression. She was pretty sure that Mary Margaret did. “No, Snow, it’s all right. Princess Emma does not understand the ways of our world. Please, allow me to explain.”

Forget August, if Mother Superior kept this up, Emma was going to deck _her._


	4. The Truth of the Matter

Rumplestiltskin had already known that he liked Emma, but that little performance was just marvelous - _not going to kiss her butt indeed! Ha!_ Oh, he knew the Savior wasn’t on his side, and he neither expected nor particularly wanted that, but to see her reject Reul Ghorm so bluntly was both entertaining and reassuring. _I won’t let that blue insect poison these people against Bae. Or Belle._

Rumplestiltskin glanced over at the puppet, who was doing a rather terrible job of hiding his smirk. At this point, Rumplestiltskin was rather positively disposed towards the lad. Bae had told him that the puppet had intervened on his behalf, ruining Reul Ghorm’s attempt to convince the Savior that Bae was lying about magic being present in this land. Rumplestiltskin supposed he might even owe him a favor for that, but he wouldn’t mention it unless the puppet did.

Rumplestiltskin turned back to Reul Ghorm as she began to explain. “The Truest Believer is as the title implies; someone whose heart is full of belief. This gives his heart great power in worlds where magic is fueled by belief.”

“Like Neverland,” Snow White said.

“Yes. The magic of the island of Neverland is limited in ways that the Heart of the Truest Believer is not. With it, Pan would not only be far more powerful, but truly immortal as well.”

Emma looked thoughtful. “What do you know about Neverland?”

“It is a terrible place, but only because Pan rules there. He corrupted it. It is supposed to be a place for children to visit in their dreams and experience great wonders, but Pan has transformed it into his own dark kingdom, an island of nightmares. He kidnaps children and keeps them there as his playthings.”

“Did you know Baelfire was among them?” Rumplestiltskin asked; it was more an accusation than a question. 

“No.” 

“ _Liar._ ”

She gave him a fierce glare. “No. Pan has long since shielded the island from my sight and hearing, so that I could not hear the children’s wishes. I don’t know who he has taken.”

“But you knew he had kids,” Emma accused.

“Yes.”

“He has Tinker Bell,” Bae said suddenly, his eyes hard. 

“That is unfortunate,” Reul Ghorm replied, looking slightly surprised but not terribly troubled. _She never could get over one of her little followers breaking her rules._

Emma frowned, probably picking up on the same apathy Rumplestiltskin had, but her focus was Henry, and Rumplestiltskin could not fault her for that. “Tell me about the, uh, magic of Neverland. You said it was ‘limited’ - what do you mean?”

“It was meant for a specific purpose, as I said; to provide a magical paradise for children to visit in their dreams. It was not meant for what Pan is using it for. All magic comes with a price, and that price is Pan’s life, when the magic of the island runs out.”

“But not if he gets Henry’s heart.”

“Precisely.”

“And when does the magic run out?”

“That, I don’t know.” 

Emma narrowed her eyes. Like Rumplestiltskin, she knew the fairy was lying, but, interestingly, did not press the point. “OK. So far, nothing you’ve said contradicts what Gold told us.”

“Congratulations,” Rumplestiltskin said wryly. Reul Ghorm pursed her lips. Belle gave him a scolding look and a warning pat on the arm. Emma snorted.

“One last question. What happens to Pan if he loses his Shadow?”

“He would be significantly weakened, perhaps even completely powerless.”

“Could he take Henry’s heart like that?”

“Likely not.”

“Then I vote for Gold’s plan.”

“And what plan is that?” Reul Ghorm asked.

“None of your business, dearie.”

“Yes it is,” Snow White snapped, “You said yourself these barriers are for everyone’s protection. Blue is included under the classification of ‘everyone’.”

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. Neither Snow White nor Mary Margaret were particularly known for their snark; it was amusing to see her attempt it. “I suppose that if I do not explain my plan, you will attempt to and butcher is terribly. Very well. I am going to erect two barriers around Storybrooke, so that the Shadow will be trapped between them. Without it, Pan will be unable to attain Henry’s heart, as you have just confirmed.”

“And how will you be erecting these barriers?”

He smirked, leaning forward. “Not telling.”

“Gold-”

“No need,” Reul Ghorm said. “I was giving you a chance to explain yourself, but as always, Dark One, you chose deception instead. The only thing here powerful enough to do what you claim is the potion you made from Snow White and Prince David’s True Love, and you have no right to use it this way without explaining what else it can do.”

“Actually, dearie, I have every right. I made it from materials traded to me. It’s mine.”

“What materials?” Charming asked suspiciously.

“Your hair.” Snow’s look of offended realization was hilarious.

“I never traded you any of my hair,” Charming objected.

“You traded me your cloak. You shed.” Now Charming’s expression matched his wife’s, and Emma shook her head, looking equal parts baffled and disgusted.

“If we could get back to the issue…”

“That potion is our only hope to return to the Enchanted Forest,” Reul Ghorm said.

“That’s not true, as you well know,” Rumplestiltskin snapped.

“Hold the phone, you can get us back?” Emma asked.

“No. And Reul Ghorm is lying about the potion’s ability to do that as well.”

“The deception is yours, Dark One.” The fairy turned to Emma. “The potion has the power to return magic to Storybrooke.”

“No!” Bae protested, “We are not doing that! Do you really want my father to have his powers back? Any of you?”

“I sure as hell don’t,” Leroy growled. _The wisest thing you’ve ever said, sodden dwarf._ The other six, as well as the werewolves, nodded in agreement.

“Baelfire,” Reul Ghorm said in that condescending tone that made Rumplestiltskin want to throw her though a wall, “You have not considered the others that have had their powers stolen.”

“‘Others’? You mean yourself, dearie?” Rumplestiltskin asked mockingly, “Or did you mean Regina? Ingrid? Maleficent?”

“Maleficent?” Snow asked, sharing a startled look with her husband. “She’s in Storybrooke?” Rumplestiltskin raised an eyebrow; the Queen actually seemed flustered, which was out of character. “It’s only; we hadn’t seen her anywhere.”

_Interesting._ “You wouldn’t have. She is trapped in her dragon form in a cavern under the library.”

“Wait, that’s why the library is closed?” the puppet asked, “I thought Regina just didn’t want the peasants reading. They might get, uh, _ideas._ ”

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. “There was likely some of that at play as well. Maleficent can’t escape, so there is no particular reason the building cannot be used, neither is there a reason that the library had to be located there.”

“We should open it,” Belle said, “The people should have a place to read if they wish.”

Rumplestiltskin smiled fondly; it was actually the perfect project for Belle, and he couldn’t keep her shut up in the house all the time (even if he might wish to). He took her hand and kissed it. “I’ll make some inquiries.”

“Ah, getting back to the dragon part…” Emma said.

“As I said; she can’t escape.”

“Wait,” Charming said, “Dragon… she still has the-”

“Ah, ah, dearie. It’s best we not spread that around until it’s time to act upon it. Someone could… misuse it.”

“What?” Emma asked.

“Maleficent is guarding the potion,” Charming said, and Rumplestiltskin wished that he had something to throw at his head. “That’s why he needs us to retrieve it, isn’t it?”

“I will neither confirm nor deny,” he said, as useless as it was. “Not until we’ve reached an agreement.”

“You’ve no right to decide this, Dark One,” Reul Ghorm said. “There are others you have not considered.”

“Beyond yourself and four of the most powerful dark magic users the realms have ever known? Do tell, dearie.”

“Emma.”

“ _Me?_ ”

“Emma.” Rumplestiltskin looked at her. He hadn’t considered that, although it was absurdly obvious now that it had been pointed out. _Such a glaring oversight._

“You are the Savior, Emma; your potential for light magic is unparalleled. He has no right to take that from you.”

“Uh… No, thanks, I’m good. Let’s do the barrier thing.”

“Emma-” Snow began.

“No,” Emma said. “No magic. I read that Book cover to cover last night, and I know what magic did to him,” she pointed to Rumplestiltskin, “And to Regina. And I bet if I asked you, you’d have a story about Maleficent and this Ingrid too.”

“Oh, yes,” Rumplestiltskin replied with a smirk.

“Besides, the curse is broken; I did the Savior thing. It’s done.”

“No, Emma, it’s not ‘done’. It’s who you are,” Snow said.

“Well ‘who I am’ says no magic. Magic always comes with a price; you’ve both been very clear on that,” she said, looking to both Rumplestiltskin and Reul Ghorm.

“Quite,” Rumplestiltskin said.

“But if it can take us back home-” Ruby began.

“It can’t.”

“Once again, you lie, Dark One.”

“I do not. Bringing magic here will not provide a means back, not unless you have some secret you’d like to share, Reul Ghorm?” She said nothing. “I thought not.”

“So how do we get home?” The ill-tempered dwarf demanded. “In fact, why haven’t we gone already? The curse is broken.”

“The curse breaking does not send anyone anywhere. Were you led to believe that it did?” He looked challengingly at Reul Ghorm.

“I… you never did actually say that, did you Blue?” Snow said. “I suppose that we just assumed…”

“You know what they say about assuming, dearie. No, the curse breaking does not send everyone back to the Enchanted Forest. In fact, I’m not aware of any way to do that-”

“Again, you lie, Dark One.”

“Again, I do not, Reul Ghorm.”

“The curse may be reversed.”

He sneered. He’d been hoping to keep that little detail to himself, but he could still convince them it was a bad idea. “You know as well as I that reversing the curse does not send everyone back to the Enchanted Forest.”

“Then what does it do?” Emma asked.

“So glad you asked, Miss Swan. It sends everyone back to where they were when the curse was cast. While it is true that most of us would return to the Enchanted Forest, some of us would not. I _will not_ allow my son to be sent back to Neverland, nor, I imagine, would you care to be separated from Henry either.”

“Henry was born here,” she said, putting the pieces together.

“Yes, and he would remain here. Actually, come to think of it, I’m not sure what effect traveling through the wardrobe while the curse was being cast might have on your fate and Mr. Booth’s. You might be sent back. You might remain here. You might be torn asunder by warring magical forces.” He looked straight at Geppetto as he said that. The woodcarver flinched and grabbed his son’s hand. He looked back at Emma. “Or Regina, as the only person who can actually reverse the curse, might be given a choice as to what to do with you. I think we can all agree that would be a very bad idea.”

“Oh, yeah,” Ruby snorted.

“So we’re stuck here forever?” Grumpy demanded.

“If by ‘here’ you mean Storybrooke, certainly not. With the curse broken, anyone can now cross the town line as they will. If by ‘here’ you mean this world, that’s actually an interesting question. I week ago, I’d have said ‘yes’, but then Mr. Booth told me an interesting story about the Apprentice. It appears that he can travel to and from this world freely. If you’d like a means back, I’d recommend trying to locate him. For myself, I am uninterested.” 

“You don’t want to go back,” Emma said, her eyes narrowing.

“I do not.” _Not without Bae, and he would never agree._

“You want to keep your promise,” Henry said, smiling at him with a simple innocence that really should never be directed at the Dark One.

Rumplestiltskin looked at Bae, who was resolutely staring at his hands. “I do.” Belle took his hand and leaned against him briefly; Rumplestiltskin smiled at her, squeezing her hand fondly.

“So, we find this Apprentice guy, we go home, and Gold stays here? I like that plan. When do we start?” the dwarf asked.

“Do not heed the machinations of the Dark One, Grumpy; he cannot be trusted,” Reul Ghorm warned piously. 

“But August can,” Emma said, and the puppet looked up, startled at being declared trustworthy. “Can this Apprentice guy really do what Gold said?”

“Travel to this world and back? Yes. He and the Sorcerer are in charge of finding the Authors, and they all come from this world. And the Apprentice was able to find me. I just don’t know how to get in contact with him; he didn’t exactly leave a number.”

“We’ll deal with that later. Unless you,” she turned to Reul Ghorm, “Can explain exactly how bringing magic here will help these people get home without leaving Henry behind or sending Bae back to a psycho who wants my kid’s heart, I say we go with Gold’s plan.”

“I’m sorry, Blue,” Snow White said, “But I agree with Emma. Leaving Henry behind is not an option, nor is sending Bae back to Pan. And I think it is in everyone’s best interest if Regina, Rumplestiltskin, and Maleficent do not have access to their powers.”

“You’ve forgotten Pinocchio,” she said. “Without magic, he will die if he continues to turn to wood.

Everyone looked at the puppet. “You will?” Geppetto asked, horrified.

“Yeah,” the puppet said flatly, “And if this weren’t the first time you actually seemed to give a crap about that, Blue, I might think you actually meant to help. Instead of use me. Again.”

“Pinocchio-” she began.

“No. You said I had to do this on my own. Well, it took too damn long, and Rumplestiltskin had to explain some things to me that he probably shouldn’t have, but I’ve figured out by now that nothing is going turn me back faster than to waste everyone’s best chance at stopping Pan just to save my sorry ass. Ah!” Pained, he pulled his right arm close to his chest, Geppetto fussing over him.

“Pinocchio!”

“No, Papa, this is good. See?” Everything that could be seen of his right arm was now turning to flesh.

“Well,” Rumplestiltskin drawled, “I’d say the lad has a handle on his little… problem. Any other excuses you’d like to offer? I do wonder, dearie, if this is what this whole affair had been about for you - bringing fairy magic to a world that has none? You do seem terribly insistent.”

“I am not like you, Rumplestiltskin; I do not crave power. And the curse was not my doing; it was yours and the Queen’s.”

“Yeah, but you could have stopped it and didn’t,” Emma said, arms crossed against her chest. “And from where I’m sitting, it seems like he’s the one arguing against getting his powers back and you’re the one arguing for it. I’d really like to know why.”

“Me too,” the puppet agreed.

“And me,” Snow White said, her expression sad. To see her faith in the fairy wavering was _glorious._

“And me,” Baelfire said, his gaze as challenging as Emma’s. 

“I could not have prevented any of this,” the fairy protested.

_Liar._ “Yes, dearie, you really could have. All you had to do was tell me about the tree. Or saved Daniel from Cora. Or the elder Henry from Regina. Many steps led us here; you’ve had dozens of chances to change the course of things.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that Papa’s curse could be broken by a kiss instead of giving me the bean?” Bae asked dully, staring at the table.

“Because, Baelfire, the Dark One cannot love enough for the Kiss to work.”

“That’s not true!” Belle said accusingly. “It almost did for us.”

“But it did not in the end, did it, child?”

Belle narrowed her eyes dangerously, and Rumplestiltskin felt a shock of not only love but lust shoot through him. Watching Belle challenge Reul Ghorm was incredibly arousing, although this was not necessarily the best time to be learning that fact. _Later._

“I am not your child,” Belle said firmly, “And Rumple only broke off the Kiss because he needed his power to find his son. I’ve been sitting here listening to you insult the man I love, but you are nothing but a hypocrite. You hold yourself up as goodness incarnate, but you manipulate and play with words and people as much as he ever did. You want something that you are refusing to explain to us, and you know nothing about what is in Rumplestiltskin’s heart. He saved Avonlea from the Ogres when no fairy came to our aid-”

“For a price. He enslaved you.”

“No. I chose to go, which is more than can be said for the marriage I would have been forced into had I stayed.”

“Your spells have a price too, Blue,” the puppet said, cradling his wooden hand in his human one. “And why not mention the Kiss? Even if it didn’t work, at least the fallout wouldn’t have been so bad. And if you didn’t think Rumplestiltskin could love enough for the Kiss, why would you think he could love enough to go through the portal?”

Rumplestiltskin’s gut clenched, and his blood burned. The puppet was right. Reul Ghorm had not only kept him from Bae, she’d intentionally separated them! She’d given Bae the bean knowing what Rumplestiltskin would choose. Only the crowd around them and Belle’s grip on his arm kept him from leaping out of his seat then and there and attacking the meddling fairy with his bare hands. _Kill her! Kill her now!_

Bae was coming to the same realization. “Oh, my God,” he said, burying his hands in his hair. “I came to you for _help._ ”

“I provided what help I could, Baelfire.” _LIAR!_

Bae looked up at her, his eyes jaded. “Go fuck yourself.”

Everyone stared. Emma smirked. Rumplestiltskin thought the puppet might be choking on a hysterical laugh. Reul Ghorm puffed up like any of the dozens of petty royals Rumplestiltskin had offended in his time. “Baelfire-”

“Do watch your words carefully, dearie,” Rumplestiltskin growled. “I know what you’ve been telling people about my son.”

“That’s right,” the puppet said, his look as jaded as Bae’s. “You told me all kinds of crap about Baelfire, and none of it was true. Why should we believe anything you say now?”

“What did she say about Baelfire?” Snow asked in confusion.

“She told me that Nate was Baelfire, and that’s why I had to break him and Emma up.” 

“What?!” Emma demanded, her gaze jumping from Reul Ghorm to the puppet and back again.

“Yeah,” the puppet continued, “She told me that being the Dark One’s son, he’d take you down a dark path. She implied he was… contaminated somehow.”

“I did not-”

“ _Yes,_ you did,” the puppet snapped, pointing an accusing finger. “I am not making this up. I am not imagining it. You told me exactly what you needed to to get me to do what you wanted, and you ignored me for the other twenty-eight years of the curse. I don’t know what you want, Blue, or what your problem is with a kid who’s never done anything to anyone, but I am done listening to you.”

“Blue?” Snow asked, “Is this true?”

“Yes,” the puppet said, forcefully.

“Pinocchio misunderstood.”

“Bull,” Emma said. “I know your type, lady. You say you care about people, but only when they agree with you, and only when they’re the ‘right kind’ of people. You’ve been using me my whole life. You’ve been using August, and you’ve been using Bae and who knows who else. I don’t trust him,” she said, jerking a thumb at Rumplestiltskin, “But I trust him a hell of a lot more than I trust you; at least he admits he’s a bastard.”

Reul Ghorm looked at Snow, who looked away, not saying a word for or against her daughter’s diatribe. “I see. I believe I am unwanted here. I only pray that you will see the truth of the Dark One’s nature before too much more harm is done. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Good riddance,” Emma muttered as she left. Rumplestiltskin would have indulged in a self-satisfied smile if it would not have conformed to exactly the image of him Reul Ghorm had just warned them about. It irked, but he still needed these people ( _for now_ ).

Snow, Charming, the cricket, and most of the dwarves - but especially Snow - looked bereft. Geppetto put an arm around his son, smiling proudly. Rumplestiltskin longed to do the same, but could not imagine it would be welcome. He’d made his choice, after all, even if Reul Ghorm had orchestrated the circumstances. He could only hope Bae might be able to forgive him in time.

“Dreamy,” Belle inquired, unwilling to let the silence rest, “I didn’t get to ask before - how is your love?”

The dwarf’s frowned deepened. “It’s Grumpy now. And it didn’t work out; dwarves and fairies can’t be together.”

“Who told you that?” Belle asked, appalled.

“The Blue- SON OF A BITCH!” The dwarf jumped to his feet. “Screw you people; I’m going to find Nova!”

“Good luck!” Belle called as he rushed out the door, the others staring in shock. After a beat of utter silence, the puppet started laughing.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry - it’s not funny. But does anyone else have any complaints to lodge against Blue? I feel like now is the time.”

“No,” Granny said, speaking up for the first time, “But I have a question for the Dark One.”

“Yes?”

“These barriers of yours? How do we know they will work? How do we know we’re not just helping you curse the town for a second time?”

Belle bristled, but Rumplestiltskin just scoffed. “Why would I bother to do that? Besides, I have made a deal with Bae. He was very specific, and everyone here knows that I do not break deals.” Bae had made him promise the he would only use the potion for the barriers; he was still afraid that Rumplestiltskin would break his word (again) and go back to the magic. Rumplestiltskin was determined to prove that he would not - _no matter how difficult it is._

“It’s true,” Bae said, “He did.”

“All the same, some of us should be there when you put them up,” Charming said.

“Fair enough.” And he wouldn’t mind the extra protection. Setting up the barriers would be tricky work; if Reul Ghorm or anyone else were going to attempt to steal the potion, it would be then.

“When can you do it?” Emma asked.

“I’m going to need some time to write the spells. They should be ready the morning after next, I should think.”

“That’s the soonest you can do?”

“This isn’t a set of trigonometry problems, Miss Swann; I’ll be reinventing a branch of magic. Believe me, I’m as anxious to stop Pan as you are.”

“I’d like one of our people to look at the spells before you put them up, Snow said, “To make sure they are what you say they are.”

“One of ‘your people’? I was under the impression that Reul Ghorm was your authority on magic, and I will not be allowing her anywhere near the potion or the spells.”

“Well, of course not Blue, but…” she trailed off. _Just now realizing how dependent you were on Reul Ghorm? I assure you, dearie, she planned it that way - doesn’t like competition, that one._

“How about Nova?” Belle offered.

Rumplestiltskin blinked. “What?”

“Nova. Dreamy, er, Grumpy’s love. If Reul Ghorm conspired to keep her and Grumpy apart, surely she will no longer follow her?” Belle looked at him hopefully. “And she’s a fairy; she should know magic.”

Powerless against that look, Rumplestiltskin took her hand and kissed it. “An acceptable suggestion, sweetheart. If Nova does indeed break with Reul Ghorm, I will allow her to review the spells before I cast them.” After all, Rumplestiltskin had never had trouble working with fallen fairies in the past, and he was rather curious to get a look at this one. He didn’t know the name, but the dwarf’s offer with the boat suddenly made a great deal more sense.

“You should have gotten a girlfriend earlier, Gold; you’re a lot easier to deal with like this,” Emma snarked.

“I tried to come back to him,” Belle said, “But Regina captured me and held me in her dungeon. Here, she calls it her ‘hospital’.”

“That’s… crap. That’s terrible, sorry,” Emma mumbled. “Wait - the hospital? Are there any more people there we need to let out?”

“I don’t know. The cells… the doors are not made of bars. I could not see inside.”

“Can you show us where the cells are?”

“Miss Swann,” Rumplestiltskin said warningly; Belle had been through enough.

“No, Rumple. I should show them. If Regina has any other prisoners, we should rescue them.” _She always was a hero._

“Very well, sweetheart; but I’m coming with you.”

She smiled shyly. “Thank you.”

“Don’t you have a branch of magic to re-write?” Emma asked him.

“I do, Sheriff, so I suggest we do this quickly.”

After a moment, she shrugged. “OK, fine. Let’s go.”

XxXxXxX

If there was one person Regina had not been expecting to visit her while she was imprisoned, it was the Blue Fairy.

“What do you want? I doubt you’re here to kill me, and I really doubt you’re here to grant my wish, so whatever it is, you can flutter off now.”

“Do you truly have no remorse for what you have done?”

Regina rolled her eyes. “Of course not.”

“Not even to Henry?”

Regina twitched. “The sleeping curse wasn’t meant for him. Miss Swan should have stopped him from eating it. And I suppose now that she’s won, she’ll go gallivanting around town playing the hero, not paying any attention to _my_ son.”

“There would be less of a need for that if you had not brought about so much grief.”

“So she is doing that?” Regina slammed her hand into the bars, “I knew it!”

“Henry still cares for you, you know.”

Regina couldn’t stop herself from asking, “He does?”

“He does. He still considers you his mother, and pled for mercy on your behalf.” 

“I don’t need mercy, I need my son back!”

“Well, then, perhaps you may learn one more lesson from your former teacher.”

“Rumple? What is he up to now?”

“He brought a means to restore magic to this world, but has resolved not to do so at his son’s request.”

_Magic? That conniving imp, I knew he had some squirreled away!_ Regina laughed. “Rumple give up magic? You must be joking. Or else he’s fleeced you all. Again.”

“You know I have no love for the Dark One, but I believe he is sincere in his intentions. He has been searching for his son for a very long time; he believes this is the way to earn the boy’s love and forgiveness.”

Regina snorted. “So what are these ‘means’?”

“I do not believe I should tell you that.”

“Why not? There’s nothing I can do about it in here. Besides, he lied to me last night when I came to him for help for Henry; I’d like to know what he risked my child’s life for.”

The fairy frowned. “I suppose you have cause. Henry is an innocent; whatever you have done, Rumplestiltskin should have helped him.”

“Damn right,” Regina muttered. “So what is it? One of those trinkets he’s so fond of?”

“Oh, no. A potion. A potion he made from Snow White and Prince Charming’s True Love. He used it to alter the curse, to create the Savior, and the rest he hid with Maleficent for later use.”

“Maleficent?” Regina asked, appalled.

“Indeed. He intended to retrieve it - or, more likely, force the Savior to retrieve it - and pour it in the wishing well.”

“The wishing well? What would that do?”

“Oh, Regina, your curse brought over more than you intended. The wishing well is connected to the waters of Lake Nostos; they would combine with the potion to bring magic to this land.”

“That little imp!” Regina snarled, “He planned all of this, didn’t he? Every detail!”

“Indeed. It is the work of lifetimes. Dark as you are, you did not deserve to be used by him in this way.”

“So, what, is he just leaving the potion down there? Is that what he told you? You know he won’t; this is a trick. Everything is, with him.”

“I feared as you do, but he has instead proposed an alternative use for it. He is going to use it to create a barrier over the town to protect his son from an old enemy of his.”

“And you believe that? He’s the Dark One! With his powers back, he wouldn’t need any barrier.”

“Ah, but then he would lose his son. Just as your mother lost you.”

Regina sneered at the mention of her mother. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because whatever your crimes, Henry does not deserve to suffer. If Rumplestiltskin can indeed relinquish his evil ways, surrendering his power for his son, I have hope that you can do the same. It is what Henry wishes for you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Henry is the most vocal supporter of Rumplestiltskin’s… redemption. I believe it is because it gives him hope that you may do what the Dark One is attempting to do. You are his mother; he misses you.” I miss him too. “I hope you will heed my advice, Regina. There has been enough death.”

_No, there hasn’t - not as long as Snow White lives. Why did you never help me, you glittering bug? You always helped her, and she didn’t even need you. Not like I did._

“Will you think on what I have said?”

“Perhaps,” Regina said loftily. “You can go now.”

The fairy smiled knowingly, and Regina wished she had her magic so she could wipe that condescending expression off her face. “Of course, your Majesty.” She left, hands clasped piously.

_‘Think on it’? You bet I will._


	5. Do the Brave Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice that this chapter is the longest yet. Because the page count of this story is over twice that of Not According to Plan, the chapters from now on are going to be longer, so that it won’t take 40+ weeks to post. Thanks for reading!

The hospital contained one other prisoner. His name was Sydney Glass. Rumple explained that he had been a genie that had fallen in love with Regina, and then made a foolish wish that led him to become trapped as her Magic Mirror.

“Is that why you always covered the mirrors in the castle? So that he could not spy on you?” Belle had asked Rumple. She would keep asking questions. She would keep focusing on ‘before’ and ‘now’, and resolutely not think about her time as Regina’s captive.

“Oh, Regina could do that on her own, but yes; two sets of eyes see more than one, after all, and he never had to sleep.”

Mr. Glass (Rumple explained that that was the title for common men in this new world, Mr.) was taken to the upper part of the hospital, and Doc examined him, declaring he was in passable health (all the dwarves save Grumpy had accompanied them, while Snow White and Prince Charming stayed behind with Henry and the rest of the Council to discuss how proceed). 

It transpired that Mr. Glass had been enlisted by Regina to murder a woman while the curse was still in place, and that he’d defied her orders and kidnapped the woman instead. Emma (she insisted Belle call her Emma or Sherriff instead of Princess) took out an amazing device that allowed her and Rumple to speak to the Council as clearly as if they were in the same room, and it was decided that because Mr. Glass was cursed when he had committed his crime, Regina would ultimately be considered responsible for it.

“I’m still going to keep an eye on him,” Emma assured Rumple.

“See that you do. He is more dangerous now, not less. Back in the Enchanted Forest, he murdered for her; had he been awake when she ordered him to kill Kathryn, I believe he would have done so again. He may still, if she asks.”

“Got it.”

“If you have no more questions for me, I will begin my work on the barriers.”

“Yes, good. The sooner you can get those things up, the better.”

“Indeed. In the meantime, keep a very close eye on your boy, Miss Swan.”

“You know I will. Any specific advice about this Shadow?”

“Keep all doors and windows closed. The Shadow can still slip in if you do, but it can’t get Henry out.”

“And it can be distracted with fire,” Baelfire offered. “It’s attracted to it. And it doesn’t like adults.”

“So, what, one of us sleeps in Henry’s bedroom, and the rest should set up a bonfire on the beach?”

“I would not recommend deliberately drawing the Shadow’s attention to Storybrooke. But an adult to keep watch would be wise.”

“Does it always come at night, or could it grab him during the day too?”

I don’t know,” Baelfire said, “Neverland has no sun. It came for me at night, but that could have been because there were no adults around.”

Gold frowned. “I have seen it move in the daylight,” he said. 

“Great. So Henry needs an adult with him 24/7.”

“Considering his connection to Regina, I’d recommend it anyway. She still wants him, and I did tell you, Miss Swan, that she never yields.”

Emma frowned, but nodded. “You’re right. We’ll figure something out.”

“Very good. I will contact you when the spells are ready.”

Emma nodded again. “And you call me, kid, if you have any more ideas about Pan. And if you just want to chat.” she looked sidelong at Rumple.

“I told you, he won’t hurt me. And it’s the magic that makes him… do what he did before.”

“Either way kid, just know you can call me. Or Mary Margaret. You too,” she said to Belle.

Belle frowned. She was getting sick and tired of people insulting Rumple or implying that he was bullying her into staying with him. She understood that his reputation as the Dark One would be difficult to overcome, but Rumple had been the one holding her hand and telling her how brave she was to enter Regina’s prison again scant hours after escaping it. Emma had seen that; how could she think he would hurt her? So far, the only person who seemed happy that they had found each other was Henry. _He really is a sweet boy._

“Thank you for the offer, Sherriff, but I doubt there will be a need,” Belle answered, a bit more sharply than she meant.

Emma blinked. “I’m being an judgmental ass, aren’t I? Crap. Sorry.”

Belle giggled, a little in shock. “Apology accepted.” Admitting error - especially so bluntly - was not a common practice among the nobility of the Enchanted Forest. It suddenly occurred to Belle that Emma and Mulan had a great deal in common, although Belle could never imagine Mulan ever using the words Emma had. She would have to ask Rumple if he knew Mulan and whether she was in Storybrooke. The warrior woman could be very helpful with Pan, Belle thought, and she would like to know how her friend had fared after they had parted ways. 

She held off, though, while they returned once again to the pink house; she could see that Rumple’s mind was already on his spells. He did have enough presence of mind to stop himself on the way to what Belle presumed was his laboratory and ask, “Bae?”

“Yeah?” Bae answered cautiously.

“Would you mind showing Belle the house, help her pick a room?”

“Sure,” the boy said awkwardly.

“Oh, I…” Belle trailed off. She’d been assuming that she and Rumple would share a bedchamber, but she realized she’d been getting ahead of herself. They’re barely kissed, after all, and Rumple was a very private person. She could wait.

“Yes?” Rumple asked, concerned.

“Nothing. That would be lovely, Bae, thank you. May I take some tea down to you in a little while?” she asked Rumple.

He smiled. “That would be lovely, thank you.”

XxXxXxX

By the time they got home, August was ready to collapse. The meeting had dragged on for another hour while assignments were handed out and arrangements were made for Snow to make a public address to the citizenry. There would be a town meeting later, and August was immensely grateful that neither he nor his father would have to attend. Jiminy would be going, of course, but Papa had never really been a member of the Council, and August’s assignment (gather everything he had on the Apprentice) wasn’t public enough to require his attendance. _Am I a member of Snow White’s Council now? Shit._

He couldn’t think about that right now; it was hard enough just to stay upright. After leaving the Sherriff’s station, he, Papa, and Jiminy had gathered his things from Granny’s (except his bike - he was in no shape to ride it, and neither Jiminy nor Papa knew how) and settled the bill just in time for a teary Nova to stumble in. 

Apparently, their reunion had not gone quite as well as Leroy had hoped. However, the fairy had been appalled enough by what Blue had done to leave the convent in tears, with a paper shopping bag full of every personal possession she owned. As far as August could tell, they basically amounted to toiletries, probably some undergarments, and the navy cardigan decorated with felt flowers that she was wearing over her nun’s habit. It occurred to August that, in either word, Blue was basically running a cult. _Well, she certainly had everyone drinking her Kool-Aid._

Granny had taken one look at the crying girl and apparently come to the same conclusion. She’d offered Nova (“It’s Nova. Regina and Blue tried to take my name; they can’t have it!”) a room free of charge until “we get everything sorted out.”

Nova had been profusely grateful, and August was that much angrier at Blue. _How many people has she done shit like this to?_ He decided to keep an eye on Nova, make sure Blue didn’t suck her back in. Besides, Belle had made a good point; the good guys needed a magic consultant other than Rumplestiltskin, and Nova was their best bet. Like Emma, August trusted the man more than he did Blue, but not by much.

They’d returned home after that, but on top of the events of the last 24 hours, August had been running on coffee and adrenaline for the last three months, and it was finally catching up to him. He tried to hide it, but Jiminy and Papa saw right through him ( _like always_ ).

“You need to rest,” Papa said, helping him carry his things up to the tiny guest room that no one but Papa and possibly Jiminy had ever seen the inside of.

“The Apprentice-”

“Can wait a day. You’re asleep on your feet. Rest now, I’ll wake you for supper.”

Too tired to argue, he fell onto the bed and started untying his boots. It was more difficult than he expected with one hand, and he nearly did a faceplant onto the floor before his father stopped him. “Let me.”

“Papa, I can get it-”

“No, no, let me. Just sit.” August lowered his head into his right (human) hand, face burning with humiliation. It was bad enough being so useless, but everyone knowing why he was in this state made him want to do what he always did when things got difficult: run. _Not that I’d get very far like this._

Papa pulled his boots off, lining them up neatly next to the small table under the single, narrow window. “There you are. Lie down now.”

“Are you going to tuck me in?” August joked.

“I…” Papa froze, embarrassed.

 _He was. Crap._ August didn’t know how to feel. He’d missed being cared for, but he’d grown out of the need for that kind of coddling a long time ago. It was like his father was trying to pretend he was still a little boy and not a thirty-five-year-old man. Yes, he couldn’t move around terribly well at the moment, but he wasn’t entirely helpless. “Papa…”

“No, no, I’m being silly. Forgive an old man.”

“Papa, it’s all right.”

“I’m so proud of you, Pinocchio,” he said suddenly. August gaped. _Proud? How can he be proud?_

“You’ve grown into a good man.” _No, I didn’t. I really, really didn’t._ “I love you.”

“I love you too, Papa,” August replied automatically, still dazed.

Papa smiled sadly and gripped his shoulder. August knew he could feel where his human and wooden parts met, but he didn’t react to it at all. “Rest now,” was all he said, “Your work will be better after you’ve slept.”

August took his father’s hand in his own, human one. “Yeah.”

It was too much for his mind to process just then. He lay down. He would later wonder if it was just exhaustion or his need for escape, but he fell asleep so quickly he barely remembered Papa closing the door behind him.

XxXxXxX

“Emma?” Henry asked after dinner. The Town Meeting had run (predictably) long, and they were eating late.

“Yeah, kid?”

“I’m confused about something August said today. About my dad.” Crap. Emma had been hoping that with everything that had happened, Henry would not notice that the few things August had let slip about Nate didn’t match up with the fireman story she’d told him. Even knowing that Nate had not been the one to call the cops on her, she did not want to get into it, especially now. Even if he hadn’t made the call himself, Nate had still let her take the fall, and had never once tried to contact her after she got out. Maybe he wasn’t “tainted by evil” the way Mother Superior had told August, but he wasn’t a good guy either.

“Yeah?” Emma asked carefully.

“So, his name was Nate, right?”

“Yeah.”

“What was his last name?”

“Why?” She hoped to hell that Henry wasn’t going to try to track him down. Henry had gone to Boston to find her; where would he go to find Nate?

“Because he’s my dad, and I want to know.”

“Well… it’s just, you never asked before.”

“Well, you told me he was dead before. You told me he died before you went to jail.”

“That’s right…”

“Then why did August think that you thought he called the cops on you? How could he think that if he was dead?”

“I don’t know what August was thinking. Mother Superior apparently told him a lot of stuff about Nate that wasn’t true.”

“OK, then; I’ll ask him. And he has to tell me the truth.”

“No, don’t!”

Henry gave her a jaded look. “Why?” he asked flatly. _Really, Swan? Twelve hours of being his primary caregiver - you couldn’t make it twelve hours without screwing up? Shit._

“Because…”

“Because why? Please, Emma, I can’t take having another mom who lies to me!” 

Emma closed her eyes. This really was the worst possible time for Henry to find out that she’d lied. She was angry at August for a moment, but telling that truth had saved his life and given them the heads up about Mother Superior. She couldn’t hold that against him, even if he had known the story she’d told Henry, which he hadn’t. _That’s the thing about lies; they always come out sooner or later._ She’d said that to enough of the bond jumpers she’d tracked down in her career. _I should learn to take my own advice._ “Henry… the truth is… the truth is that I did think that your dad was the one who sent me to jail.”

“But he didn’t! Did you lie about him being dead? Maybe we can find him!”

“No, kid; you can’t find him.”

“Why not?”

“Because… I spent years looking for him after I got out of jail.” She told herself it was not a lie, more of a half-truth. It was true that, “That’s why I went to Tallahassee. That’s where we were headed. Before.”

“And you didn’t find anything?”

“No. He disappeared, kid; he’s long gone.”

Henry glared at her. “So why did you lie? Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

“Because… I didn’t want to give you false hope. I didn’t want you to spend your life searching for him. And…”

“And?”

“And I wanted to give you a hero to look up to.”

“I have heroes! David and Mary Margaret, and you… I thought.” He pushed his chair away from the table with a screech and ran up the stairs without looking back.

“Henry? Henry!”

_Dammit._

XxXxXxX

Belle couldn’t sleep. Her new room was lovely, with cream-colored walls and elaborate furniture that would not have been terribly out of place in the Dark Castle, but she was alone in it. She’d been alone too long; she couldn’t bear another night by herself.

Earlier, Bae had been wonderfully helpful, showing her the house (including the beautiful library on the top floor, even if it did not compare to the one Rumple had given her back in the Enchanted Forest) and helping her dust and tidy up her new bedroom. When she brought Rumple his tea, he told her to take any of the dresses (and anything else) she favored, so Bae helped her move those in as well.

At Belle’s urging, Rumple had joined them for dinner, which Bae had helped her cook. Bae had pointed out that the food in this land often came with the instructions printed right on the container, and between the two of them, they were able to produce a simple dish called spaghetti. Rumple had praised it far more than it deserved, then returned to his work.

He was still there when Belle sought him out. “Rumple?”

He looked rumpled, his jacket discarded and shirtsleeves rolled up. “Belle, sweetheart, what are you doing up?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh, dear.” He limped over to where she stood perched on the last step, not quite ready to breach his workspace. He took her hands and kissed them. “How can I help?”

“When are you coming to bed?”

“Ah,” he looked away, “I’m not. Not tonight. It is vital that the barriers be ready as soon as possible. I’ll be working on them all night, and likely into tomorrow night as well.”

Belle frowned. “I thought you were mortal here. Mortals need to sleep.”

“I am. I will sleep when the barriers are in place.” 

That wasn’t healthy, but Belle doubted that he would hear a word from her about it. He’d always been stubborn that way, and hundreds of years of bad habits would be hard to break. He was also worried about Bae, she knew. Henry may have been Pan’s main target, but the way Rumple looked at Bae when Pan was mentioned, Belle could tell he was terrified the Shadow might try to take his son away (again). He wouldn’t be able to sleep until Bae was safe. “Can I help?”

Rumple smiled and caressed her cheek. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. If this were research of existing magic, I would ask for your help in a heartbeat, but it is reinventing what I already know. The books I had that might help didn’t make it over, and Regina’s collection wouldn’t have anything so light.”

“Oh. May I just… sit with you then? Make some tea, perhaps?”

He kissed her briefly. “Yes to both, my love, and thank you.” She smiled and kissed him back before heading up to the kitchen for the tea.

In the end, she did sleep some that night, but only after working up the courage to ask if she could sleep in his bed. Wide-eyed, he’d agreed. In cream and burgundy bedclothes that smelled like him, she was finally able to find some rest, but it was still broken and troubled. She hoped that she would find the bed kinder when she could share it with him.

XxXxXxX

“Good morning, Emma!” Henry greeted her with more cheer than she expected (or deserved).

“Good morning,” she replied cautiously. “How are you feeling?”

“All right.”

“…You are? Even after what we… discussed yesterday?” David and Mary Margaret both looked into their coffee, obviously resisting the urge to butt in. After Henry had gone to bed last night, they had agreed (after a great deal of arguing) to let her handle it.

“I’m still mad you lied to me.”

Emma swallowed hard. “Henry, I’m sorry-”

“But,” he said, “I’m still mad at my other mom too, even though I want her to be good someday so that we can be together.”

“OK,” she said cautiously; she was not touching that can of worms today.

“And I know that for her to do that, I need to be able to forgive her. Which means I need to be able to forgive you too.”

That sounded wrong to her, but she was a combination of too fried and too relieved to say anything other than, “That’s… thank you, Henry.”

“Also! I think I know why you couldn’t find my dad.”

“…You do?” _Oh, hell._

“What if he’s one of us? A Storybook character. What if what the Blue Fairy told August was right, she was just wrong about the specific person?”

“Henry, I want you to stay away from Mother Superior…”

“I know, she lied to everyone. But there’s someone else who knows everyone in the Enchanted Forest. And he’s trying to be a good guy now!”

 _Oh, no._ Emma sighed, “Henry, you can’t mean Gold…”

“But he knows everything! He even sees the future!”

“He doesn’t know everything, Henry. And he’s very busy right now, anyway.”

“I know; he has to build the barriers. I’ll ask him after that; he’ll be a good guy then.”

“Henry…” But then, maybe this was her out? If she made a deal with Gold before he spoke to Henry, he’d tell him what he needed to to lay this whole thing to rest. The man could sell a story better than anyone she’d ever met. “Only if I go with you,” she said.

Henry brightened right up. “Really?” Emma felt like scum, but this was the best way to save him from wasting his life searching for Nate. _Or worse, actually finding him._

“Yeah. I’ve negotiated with Gold before, remember? But we definitely have to wait until the barriers are up, OK?”

“OK!”

_Crap._

XxXxXxX

Sunday - the first full day after the curse had broken - was tense and awkward. Plagued by nightmares about both his father and Pan, Bae had not slept well, and he gathered that Belle had not either. Papa had not slept at all.

He left his work long enough to make them breakfast, but told them he would have to go right back to it after they ate. Somewhat sheepishly, he asked Bae if he would be willing to show Belle the computer and help her order clothes and anything else she might need.

“I sincerely doubt that the shops will be open today, nor do I think we can count on them being open tomorrow.”

It was something to do, an excuse not to think about all the things Bae did not want to face. He agreed immediately, even if he didn’t actually know how to order things off the computer either. How hard could it be?

Apparently, the hard part was finding what you needed in the vast sea of the Internet, especially when Belle found Wikipedia so much more interesting than shopping for clothes. In the end, they got further on Bae’s history paper than they did with the shopping, a fact that caused Papa to shake his head fondly when they told him so at dinner. Bae remembered that expression. He hadn’t seen it since before Papa became the Dark One. _Is this real? Will it last?_

_Please, let it last._

XxXxXxX

Belle was disappointed to wake up alone on Monday morning. Rumple had said that his work was going well, and that he might finish in time to grab a few hours’ sleep before they had to leave to retrieve the potion. When she got downstairs, she found his laboratory empty and, beginning to worry, she started scouring the house. _He wouldn’t leave me. He wouldn’t leave Bae. He…_

She almost laughed out loud when she found him sprawled on the sofa in the den, snoring audibly. She slapped a hand over her mouth so she would not wake him. Apparently, he was even more mortal here than she had realized; from the state of his clothes, she guessed that he’d finished his work in the small hours of the morning and simply been too exhausted to make it up both flights of stairs.

Smiling happily, she made her way to the kitchen to make breakfast before waking Rumple and Bae. It was going well until the eggs began to burn, and a terrible, shrieking noise filled the house. That was Belle’s introduction to smoke alarms.

XxXxXxX

By Monday morning, David was almost eager to face Maleficent. That kind of thing was simple; he understood it. The endless parade of meetings, helping people locate lost family members, assuring people they would find a way back - not to mention the revelations about Henry’s father - he had no idea what he was doing with any of that. Thank God for Snow; she was born for it. Jiminy seemed to get it too, but David was completely out of his depth, and he knew he wasn’t the only one. Emma, for example. She wasn’t an administrator either, and David would never tell Snow this, but he was a just little bit glad to find that Emma was so much her father’s daughter.

“So you’ve had run-ins with Maleficent before?” she asked on their way to the library.

David almost froze, but was able to keep moving. One thing he and Snow completely agreed on, Emma could never know what they had done to Maleficent’s baby. “Yeah. I made a deal with Rumplestiltskin to find Snow, and his price was getting Maleficent to swallow a golden egg with the potion in it.”

Emma shook her head. “I can’t believe this is my life.”

“That is so cool!” Henry said, “That wasn’t in the Book; Maleficent’s only in it when Mom got the curse from her. She told Mom not to cast it.”

“Yup,” Emma said, “That’s why I’m hoping she’ll listen to reason, and we won’t have to fight her.”

David had his doubts. They had nothing to offer the Mistress of All Evil; without magic, even Rumplestiltskin could not turn her back into a human, and in her dragon form, he and Snow weren’t about to let her wander around town. Not to mention that she had a damn good reason to hold a grudge. “We can try,” he said, “But I want you prepared if she does want to fight.”

“It’s for Henry,” Emma replied, “Don’t worry about it.” _That’s my girl._

Gold, Bae, and Belle were waiting for them at the library. Inside it, in fact. Gold looked up when they walked in, casually standing next to Belle, who was excitedly showing him a book. Henry immediately hurried over to Bae, who was poking around a different shelf. “Hi, Bae!” 

“Hey, Henry.”

“Hey, kid,” Emma said. “Doing all right?”

“Yeah,” he said, not looking up from the book he was examining.

“Archie wanted me to ask what you were doing today. They’re trying to make sketches of people that are missing; he was thinking you could help with that.”

He looked up. “You think so?”

“They could use your help. If you want. I’m heading over there after we get this potion; you can come with me.”

“I… do you have anything Belle can do? We’re supposed to stick together. She doesn’t have any memories from this world.”

“She doesn’t?” Henry asked, “So she remembered, like your Dad?”

“No. Papa was cursed the same as anyone else, until he heard Emma’s name.”

“Wait, that’s why you needed to get Emma’s name from Snow?” Charming demanded.

“Yes. It would have been terribly inconvenient had I not.”

Emma snorted but nodded. “I’ll say. You’re still a bastard, though,” she said, almost fondly. Gold just chuckled.

“So, did you just remember the whole time?” Henry asked Belle.

Gold bristled while she shook her head. “Oh, no. I had no memories at all,” she said. Henry’s face fell.

“Like Bae.”

Bae nodded. “Yeah. But I was able to move around and learn things.”

Henry frowned, troubled. He was having difficulty reconciling the reality of what Regina had done. David suspected that he’d been counting on everything working out immediately after the curse broke; he hadn’t quite realized yet that life wasn’t so simple. “Are you going to be all right?” he asked Belle.

Belle smiled. “Oh yes. Rumple gave me the key to the library; I’m going to open it for everyone to use.” David and Emma exchanged a look. _She’s a strong one, that’s for sure._

Henry smiled. “Cool!”

“Are you interested in helping with the relief efforts?” Emma asked, “We can use all the help we can get, and Archie was hoping Bae would help with the missing person sketches.”

Belle answered, “Of course!” while Rumplestiltskin nodded thoughtfully. 

“I trust there will be sufficient security?” he asked.

“Well, I’ll be there with Mary Margaret and the… dwarves,” Emma explained. “Ruby and Archie. August is doing sketches too. Granny brought a crossbow I was too tired to argue with her about, but I’m pretty sure that arrow has Regina’s name on it. Nothing’s going down out there; not on my watch.” Gold chuckled.

“Very well.” He kissed Belle’s hand. “Watch out for each other.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Rumple; we’ll be fine.”

David tried not to stare. He just didn’t know what to make of Rumplestiltskin in this world. There was no denying that he cared for his son and Belle, but there was also no denying that to the rest of them, he was still that cunning, remorseless dealmaker David had known in the Enchanted Forest. Even with no powers, that made him dangerous. If they hadn’t needed his help with these barriers, David would have pushed to have him locked up right next to Regina.

David looked up as Mary Margaret arrived with Nova. Surprisingly, Grumpy came in right after them. “Dreamy, I told you-” Nova began.

“Yeah, I know, sister, but no way in hell am I leaving you alone with him,” Grumpy replied, jerking his head towards Rumplestiltskin.

“I’m going too,” David said. Emma had wanted to be the one to accompany Nova and Gold, but David had explained that he knew Rumplestiltskin as the Dark One better than she did. They’d argued, but the argument that ultimately swayed her was that Henry was safer in a crowd then traipsing around the woods performing magic.

“No offense, Charming, but he’s smarter than you. He’s also packing.”

Emma rolled her eyes; apparently she’d noticed the gun too. “You do have a permit for that, don’t you Gold?”

Rumplestiltskin gave one of those little, mocking bows of his. “Of course, Sheriff. Just a precaution, considering the importance of this mission. And speaking of weapons…” He ambled over to the dusty circulation desk, which held not only a roll of papers that David assumed were the spells, but a pair of long boxes as well. They were just about the right size… 

“Please tell me those are swords.”

“Indeed they are. This one should look familiar.” It was his sword, the one Midas had touched; David had missed it. “And for the Savior…” He opened the second box, flourishing a sword a bit smaller than David’s, but with a beautifully crafted hilt and what David could tell was a wickedly sharp blade. “Ascalon.”

“St. George’s sword?” Belle asked in wonder.

“St. George?” Emma asked, “As in: and the Dragon?”

“Yes to both,” Rumplestiltskin replied with a sharp smile. “These swords have both proved their worth against dragons; I imagine you’ll need them.”

“We were hoping Maleficent would just give us the potion,” Emma said, “She didn’t seem that unreasonable in Henry’s Book.”

Rumplestiltskin laughed. “Maleficent is only reasonable when she wants to be. After twenty-eight years trapped in her more ‘unreasonable’ form and with no way to reverse it at this time, I do not imagine that she will want to.”

“Will she talk to you? I gather you know each other.”

“Indeed we do, Miss Swan, and believe me when I say that my presence there will not help your case.”

Emma snorted. “Oh, I believe you. Really, is there anyone in town you haven’t pissed off?”

“You know, I’m not sure,” he replied mockingly, and Belle swatted at him playfully. 

“Rumple!” His answering grin was not only playful, but just the least bit bashful as well. David shook his head. _‘A flicker of light’ indeed._

“I don’t suppose you have a sword for me?” Snow asked.

Gold blinked. “I wasn’t aware it would take three of you to perform this task. Besides, I see you’ve come prepared.” He gestured to the bow and quiver Mary Margaret was sporting; weapons she had stored in her closet for twenty-eight years, thinking herself a high-school archery champion.

“Did you think I was going to let my daughter face Maleficent without me? But you are right about being prepared; let’s go.” 

Leroy operated the bizarrely out of place manual elevator while Henry called out, “Good luck!”

Unfortunately, Maleficent was not, as Emma had hoped, ‘reasonable’. She sent a blast of fire at them before Charming was even all the way off the elevator. All three of them dove for cover, and Emma called out, “Maleficent! We’re not here to hurt you! We just need that potion David made you swallow!”

Things went downhill from there.

By the time they called up to Grumpy to raise the elevator, they were all a bit singed, and Maleficent had exploded into a shower of sparks after taking a sword to the chest (both Emma and Snow had shot her as well, but it hadn’t done a damn thing). At least they had the potion.

“You were successful?” Gold asked.

“Yeah, we got it.”

“Are you all right?” Bae asked, and David wondered again how someone like Rumplestiltskin could have such a nice kid. _He must take after his mother._

“Yeah. Just don’t ask me to do that again,” Emma replied. “Maleficent was the only dragon in town, right?”

“‘Was’?” Belle asked, concerned, “You killed her?”

“We had to,” Snow said, defensively.

“Yeah,” Emma agreed. “She’d have fried us if we’d tried to get back up the elevator.”

“Fret not, my dear,” Rumplestiltskin said, somewhat sourly, “I sincerely doubt that she is actually dead; Maleficent is made of tougher stuff that that. And I don’t recall her having such concern for you.”

“Uh, she exploded, Gold; I’m pretty sure she’s dead.”

“She exploded? Leaving no body I presume?” Emma nodded. “That means she could no longer sustain her dragon form; if she were actually dead, you’d have seen a body. However, what little magic that still exists in her prison is probably the only thing keeping her alive. She’s as trapped as she was before, only in a new form.”

“That’s terrible,” Belle said, “Can you help her?”

“No. Her prison contains so little magic that I doubt even Regina could change it at this point. If you find the Apprentice, he can return her to the Enchanted Forest, and she can regenerate herself. In the meantime, she’s confined where she can’t hurt anyone, unless they are so foolish as to approach her.”

“Like Regina,” Belle said.

Rumplestiltskin nodded, “Yes.” Belle looked relieved.

But then Grumpy said, “Like most of us wish you were,” and David winced. He agreed with the sentiment, but this wasn’t the time to bring it up.

“We know what he’s done, Grumpy,” Snow said, “But Rumplestiltskin is cooperating with us. Regina and Maleficent were both given the choice, and they refused. It’s only fair that Rumplestiltskin be offered the same chance.”

“So don’t screw it up, Gold,” Emma said.

“I have no intention of giving you any excuse to arrest me, Sheriff. Now, if we could get to the matter at hand?”

“Yes,” Snow agreed. “Have you had a chance to look at the spells, Nova?”

The former fairy nodded. “Yes. It’s… way more advanced than anything I studied, but I don’t see anything dark in it, and that is the first thing fairies are taught to look for. The basic spell is actually familiar; it’s for a barrier, just like he said.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “Remember the power source I am using; like fairy dust, True Love cannot be used for dark magic. Even if I wanted to, I cannot use it to cast any kind of curse.”

Emma was looking at the scrolls. “I’m going to have to take your words on this; it looks like gibberish to me.”

“It’s Elvish,” Rumplestiltskin said.

“Seriously?”

“It is the common language of magic. Elves were experts at light magic in particular, but more willing to share their knowledge than fairies are. Present company excluded,” he said to Nova.

“Were?” Emma asked.

“The elves retreated from the realms long ago; before my time, in fact.”

“Like at the end of Lord of the Rings?” Henry asked excitedly.

He grinned. “Much like.”

“I thought Regina didn’t let you watch PG-13 movies?” Emma asked.

“She doesn’t; I read the books.”

“The books are better anyway,” David said, even if they were getting a bit off topic. It was nice to have something in common with his grandson.

Grumpy growled and moved between Rumplestiltskin and Nova. “I’m still going to be watching your every move, Gold.” Rumplestiltskin looked amused.

“Grumpy-” Nova protested.

“No, no,” Rumplestiltskin said, “He may prove useful. The spells must be cast at the town line at the four cardinal points. The Eastern point is offshore. I assume that… boat you attempted to sell me is actually seaworthy?”

“You bet it is,” Grumpy said stubbornly.

“Then I have no objection to the dwarf accompanying us.”

David sympathized with Nova; it wasn’t easy to face someone who walked away from you, even if they’d been told it was for your own good. The Charming part of him said they only needed a chance to talk it out, and the former dwarf and fairy would be on their way to a Happy Ever After, but the David Nolan part of him said it wasn’t that easy, and Nova needed some space. The deciding factor for him was having a second pair of eyes on Gold, a man neither Charming nor David Nolan trusted. “Another pair of hands wouldn’t hurt. Can you do this, Nova?”

She frowned, but nodded, resolute. “Yes.” Belle and Snow smiled at her.

“Thank you, Nova,” Snow said, “This is very important, and you’re the only one we could trust to do this.”

Nova smiled nervously, but thanked her. Leroy looked absolutely besotted. Belle embraced Rumplestiltskin and kissed his cheek again. “Good luck.”

Now Rumplestiltskin looked besotted. It was deeply unsettling. “Thank you, sweetheart, but I do know what I’m doing. I will come find you when our task is complete. Do look after each other.” This last was said to Bae as well, and while Rumplestiltskin looked pained as he looked at his son, his love for him was just as apparent.

Charming still didn’t trust the man, but he was starting to wonder if Snow’s insistence on second (and third, and forth) chances might actually bear fruit this time. _Time will tell._


	6. Magic

As the Blue Fairy had suggested, Regina had thought over their conversation at length. Really, it was so amusing how the hero types (and their lackeys) played right into her hands. Usually, the Blue Fairy was smarter than that, staying out of Regina’s way as much as possible, but Regina knew the fairy had some sort of history with Rumple, and his apparent conversion to ‘good guy’ had probably thrown her completely. Regina would have to thank him for that.

Not that she would have the chance; he’d be dead before noon. 

And just when he thought he’d won, too. Apparently, someone (Regina suspected Jefferson) had let his little maid out of her cell, and they’d had a perfectly saccharine reunion. Enough so, in fact, to make the dear Savior suspicious of the sweetness of it. But she’d gone along with Rumple’s plans anyway, and, thanks to the maid, discovered that Sydney was alive and well under the hospital. She’d then come back to the Sheriff’s station to lecture Regina on some nonsense about abusing the trust of people who cared for her (as if anyone other than Daniel and her father ever really had), and held up Rumple, of all people - Rumple! - as an example of a (possibly) reformed villain. The lecture had been intensely irritating at the time, but had given Regina an idea the next day, when Snow came by to give her a slightly less crass version of the same damn lecture.

Under the guise of remorse, Regina had convinced Snow to bring Sydney to the Sheriff’s Station so that Regina could apologize to him. Which she actually did, but only so he’d follow the orders she slipped to him. Sydney was her Magic Mirror, and it was time to bring the magic to Storybrooke.

XxXxXxX

Leroy didn’t trust Gold as far as he could throw him. How did a nice girl like Belle ever fall for that monster anyway? It wasn’t fair. The bastard had stomped on her heart once, and she’d gone right back to him as soon as she’d had the chance. Nova wouldn’t give Leroy the time of day.

But he couldn’t blame her, not really. He’d left her, and he’d refused to answer when she’d asked if the Blue Fairy had been involved. She’d known there was something off about Blue, and he’d been too taken in by Blue’s bullshit to listen. Well, at least she was away from that whole mess. He owed Red and Granny for that for sure, and Belle had been sweet as pie about it too, while they were waiting for the Snow, Charming, and Emma to get the potion from Maleficent. Nova was going to be all right; that was the important thing.

As soon as they got through this. Leroy didn’t trust Gold not to pull a fast one, and he’d be damned if he let it happen, especially with Nova in the middle of it. At least they had Charming too. Two against one, and Gold with no magic? Leroy could live with those odds.

So far, the bastard hadn’t made a move. They were starting with the northern point, and had entered the woods, going slowly in deference to Gold’s limp and Nova’s… tendency to stumble on uneven ground. Leroy and Charming both made sure to keep themselves between Nova and Gold, a fact which Leroy was sure Gold noticed, but didn’t comment on.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot, then a second one. Nova screamed. Gold collapsed. Leroy raised his axe, then fell as a third bullet ripped through his left thigh. He shouted (he did _not_ scream), and immediately applied pressure to the wound. He knew enough from Doc’s lectures that you could bleed out quickly from leg wounds if they hit certain arteries. The pain was incredible, but Leroy was more worried about Nova.

“Dreamy!” she screamed, trying to run for him.

“Stop right there,” Sydney Glass ( _that damned Magic Mirror!_ ) said, his gun pointed at Nova. She froze. _Good girl._ “You,” he said to Charming. “Your gun and sword, on the ground. Now. Or I blow her head off.”

“Do it, Charming,” Leroy growled. He assumed Glass was here for the potion. He could have the damn thing, if only he’d let Nova go.

Thankfully, Charming did as he was told. “His gun and phone too,” Glass said, tilting his head at Gold, who was gasping on the ground, bleeding from two holes in his abdomen. One looked like it might have pierced his lower lung, and the other his belly. He wasn’t going to die quickly. Or without a fight, as it seemed he was grasping for the gun Glass had just told Charming to take. But he was no match for Charming, who - _thank God_ \- wasn’t about to risk Nova’s life. Looking mulish, Charming took the gun and phone and tossed them towards Glass. Glass, his barrel still aimed at Nova, stomped on the phone then carefully picked up both guns, slipping them into his waistband. _I hope you blow you nuts off, you bastard._

“Now, the potion,” he said. His expression grim, Charming leaned over Gold again, taking the potion from his jacket pocket. Gold tried to fight him, but without magic, he wouldn’t stand a chance on the best of days, let alone with two bullets in him.

Charming said something to Gold, but Leroy couldn’t hear. “Hurry up,” Glass said. “The sooner we bring the magic back, the sooner I can let her go.”

“And me?” Charming asked.

“Regina’s going to want you.”

“Of course,” Charming sighed. “You don’t have to do this, you know. She doesn’t care about you. She never has.”

_Shut up, Charming!_ “Shut up. You don’t know her. None of you so-called ‘heroes’ ever have. Now give me the potion.” Charming did. “Check him for a phone too.”

“I don’t have one,” Leroy said, but didn’t protest the pat-down Charming gave him.

“I’ll send help,” Charming whispered as he searched Leroy’s pockets.

“Don’t worry about me, Charming; just take care of her.”

“That’s right,” Glass said. “You do what I say, and the girl will be fine.”

“No phone,” Charming said standing up slowly.

“Then march, both of you.”

“Dreamy-” Nova said tearfully.

“Just do what he says, Nova,” Leroy said. “You’ll be fine.”

“What about you?”

“It’s just a flesh wound; I’ll be fine too.” _I hope._ “Go on.”

“Hurry up,” Glass said again.

Nova gave him a heartbroken look, one he’d seen before. But this time, she was the one walking away. Leroy watched her until they were out of sight, then listened, hoping like hell not to hear another gunshot. He didn’t. All he could hear was the wind in the trees and Gold’s ragged breathing. After a minute or two, Leroy dragged himself over to Gold, yanked off his jacket, and wadded it up the best he could with one hand, pressing it against the holes in Gold’s belly. Leroy still didn’t trust the man, but he couldn’t call himself Belle’s friend if he just lay there let her… guy bleed to death without doing a damn thing about it.

XxXxXxX

As promised, there was plenty for Belle to help with. She seemed to find the crowd a bit overwhelming, however, so Emma quickly shuffled her off to a table near the Town Hall, where they were alphabetizing photographs and contact information for people who were looking for their loved ones.

That had been Emma’s idea, Archie had explained to Bae. As people were waiting to have sketches made of people they were searching for, Ruby (or whoever was doing the job at the time) would take their picture and contact information, and it would be posted for people to check in case the person they were seeking was already seeking them. Several families had been reunited that way already, and it was faster than waiting for sketches to me made, especially when August, one of the fairies, and now Bae were the only ones available to draw them.

The fairy looked at Baelfire nervously, but August smiled and waved. “Hey!”

“Hey,” Bae replied. The woman August was speaking to gave Bae an odd look, but August immediately drew her back into the conversation they’d been having, and she seemed to forget about him quickly enough.

Bae already had his backpack, which contained his drawing supplies, and Archie helped him get set up before introducing him to his first person. It was Tina from the grocery store. “It’s Tiana, actually. What’s your real name?”

“Baelfire. But you can still call me Bae.”

She smiled. “You’re the first person I’ve met whose names were as close as mine were. Is Mr. Gold your real father?”

“Yes.” He looked away. “Is that a problem?”

“Will you help me?”

“If I can.”

“Then it’s not a problem. I’m looking for my fiancé. His name in Naveen.”

Bae let out the nervous breath he’d been holding. “What’s he look like?”

It was easy to get lost in the task. For a while, he was even able to forget that Tiana had only been ripped from her fiancé because Papa had made it happen. The worst part was that Bae did not regret it as much as he should. As hurt and angry as he was, as much as he knew it was wrong, if Papa had not done what he’d done Bae would still be in Neverland, and whatever else he felt Bae was just so grateful to be out of there. It was selfish, and it was wrong, but Bae couldn’t help it. Maybe if he helped fix some of what his father had broken, Bae could live with himself.

When he was done of his sketch of Naveen (“Prince Naveen,” Tiana had told him somewhat wryly), she thanked him and got up. She was quickly replaced by a large man wearing a sling on his left arm. Without preamble, he said, “You’re Gold’s son.”

“Yes,” Bae replied warily. The jacket the man was wearing had the Game of Thorns logo embroidered on the breast, and Bae quickly realized whom he was talking to. “You’re Mr. French.”

“Sir Maurice,” he man said, “Can you tell me, boy, does Gold have a woman locked up in his house?”

“What?”

“A woman. Petite, pretty. Blue eyes and brown hair. Her name is Belle. She’s my daughter.”

“Belle is your daughter?”

“You know her?” he asked, grabbing Bae’s shoulder, “Please, you have to tell me where she is!”

Confused, Bae looked towards the board where Ruby and Belle were posting photographs. “Over there, with Ruby.”

The man sighed and dropped his hand, then rushed over to Belle. “Belle!”

“Father!” Belle shouted with a smile.

“You’re all right, my girl!”

“Yes, what happened to your arm?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m here to take you home.”

“Home? I’m staying with Rumplestiltskin.”

“No, you’re not. There are no ogres here; you don’t owe him a damn thing.”

“Father, no; I’m staying with him because I love him.”

Maurice gasped. “He’s bewitched you.”

“No!”

“Don’t worry; we’ll fix it.” He grabbed for Belle, and Bae stood up, ready to intervene, but Ruby was closer.

“Hey! Back off, I don’t like Gold either, but-”

“What is that?” someone shouted, and people turned.

A wall of purple smoke, taller than the tree line, was coming right towards them. Bae knew what it was: magic. “I knew it! I _knew_ it!” _He broke his promise. Again._ In a panic, Bae grabbed his backpack and ran. The expensive collection of pencils his father had given him for his birthday lay abandoned on the table.

XxXxXxX

Leroy was pretty sure Gold was dead. He’d gone unconscious fairly quickly, and his labored breathing had become weaker and weaker until Leroy couldn’t hear it anymore. He didn’t dare move either of his hands to check for a pulse, though, so he just stayed where he was, hoping he wouldn’t bleed out too. And that he wouldn’t have to be the one to explain to Belle that Gold hadn’t made it.

Then he saw the smoke. There was nowhere to run (not that he would get very far with a bullet lodged in his thigh) so he did the only thing he could; he hunched down over Gold’s prone body and prayed like hell that the wall of magic heading towards them wouldn’t send them somewhere nasty like the last one had.

It didn’t. The smoke cleared, and not a branch was out of place. Suddenly, Gold started coughing. “Woah!” _Right. Magic. Dark One. This is not going to be pretty._

Gold’s right hand came up and clamped onto Leroy’s wrist, trying to force his hand away. “Stop that; I’m applying pressure. Do you want to bleed out?” Gold only pushed harder, his left hand joining his right. “OK, fine; but if you die, I’m telling Belle it was your fault.”

Gold just kept coughing, pushing the wadded up jacket away, and revealing the two bullet holes that started bleeding like faucets as soon as the pressure was removed. His right hand started glowing purple, and Grumpy had been in enough battles to recognize healing magic when he saw it. _Oh. Duh._

Gold made an odd noise, and rolled his right hand as conjurers do. Two dented, bloodied bullets dropped from his hand and fell to the ground. Then he slapped his hand onto one of the wounds. When he moved on to the next, Leroy could see the first had stopped bleeding. As Gold worked on the second, his breathing improved, so by the time he’d finished and started sitting up, he was back to his wordy, arrogant self.

“Regina really should learn not to hire incompetents to murder for her, especially if she intends to send them after me. Move your hand.”

“What?”

“Your hand. You do want to keep that leg, don’t you?”

“You’re gonna heal me? Why?”

“Aside from the fact that I owe you for attempting to save my life, you’re my witness to my son that this,” he gestured violently, “Was not my idea.”

“How do I know it wasn’t?”

Gold stared at him. “Do you really think I would stake my life on Sydney Glass’ marksmanship? Besides, if the curse breaking did not attract Pan’s attention, this most certainly did!”

“And how do I know you don’t want that?”

“Because he wants my _son,_ you sodden dwarf! Now move your hand, or I might just leave you here and hope that Charming and your little fairy will be enough to convince Bae, assuming they are both still alive!”

“You’re going after them?”

“Of course I am! Did you really think I would let Glass get away with this?”

“All right.” He moved his hand; no way in hell was he going to let the Dark One go after Nova alone, especially now that he had magic. He might decide Charming was enough and leave Nova to die, or he might just lose it and kill both of them to get to Glass.

The healing was what Grumpy would call ‘quick and dirty’, but it got the job done. His leg still ached, but he could use it, so he hauled himself to his feet and gathered his axe and Charming’s sword. Gold picked up his cane, then waved his hand, vanishing the blood that had pooled on the ground and soaked Leroy’s jacket - but not the stains that marred the rest of the their clothes. “You cleaned the ground but not us? What the hell?”

“Best not leave the blood of the Dark One lying around. Regina could do nasty things with it.”

“Nasty for you, or nasty for us?”

“Both. Now hurry, unless you’d like to find your fairy dead; To Regina and thus Glass, she is the more disposable of the two.”

Leroy didn’t need to be told twice. 

XxXxXxX

“What was that?” Emma demanded, looking around at the anxious crowd. She took Henry’s hand to make sure they wouldn’t get separated if the crowd started to panic. At least nothing seemed damaged, and she spotted Mary Margaret and Ruby making the same sort of assessments.

“It was magic,” August called, pushing through the crowd towards her. He was moving much more easily than he had been the past few days.

“August, are you…?”

“Human? No.” He pulled off the glove he’d been wearing over his left hand. What had been one solid piece of wood was now fully articulated, and he rolled his fingers to show her that he could. “But I can move. Someone must have used the potion to bring the magic, like Blue said.”

“Gold?”

“Maybe, but after the fit Blue pitched, my guess would be her. Or someone working for her.”

Emma snorted. “Yeah, sounds like her; get someone else to do the dirty work. She really has more in common with Regina than she thinks.” Looking pained, August nodded.

Emma saw that Mary Margaret was already on the phone and assumed she was calling David. “I’m going to try Gold’s cell.” It went straight to voicemail. “Crap. Mary Margaret, are you getting David?” she shouted.

Dismayed, Mary Margaret shook her head. She jogged over, telling them, “He’s not picking up.”

“Gold’s went right to voicemail.”

“You see?” Moe French said, grabbing for Belle again, “He’s behind this! He’s a monster!”

“No, he’s not!” Belle objected, backing away from him. Ruby stepped between them.

“Just calm down. We don’t know what happened-”

“Everybody knows what he is! With the Queen imprisoned, who but the Dark One would do this?”

“The Blue Fairy,” August said bitterly. “She’s not the saint everyone thinks she is.”

Moe laughed, “You must be mad. The Blue Fairy is good, the Dark One is evil, and this is clearly evil at work!”

Emma really wished Moe would shut up. Aside from how it was upsetting Belle, he was agitating an already tense crowd. “Look!” she shouted. “We don’t know exactly what happened, but so far no one is hurt, and I want to keep it that way. Everyone, just keep calm, and we’ll get to the bottom of this. I’m going to take a team into the woods-”

“We’re coming!” several dwarves volunteered; she gathered that it had unsettled them that Leroy had gone with David and Gold without them.

“Fine. Mary Margaret, you’re our point person; I’ll call you when we find something.”

She looked upset at not going after David herself, but she was the closest thing to a Mayor Storybrooke had now, and she was by far the best at placating a crowd. “OK.”

“Henry, you stay with Mary Margaret.”

Also looking disappointed, Henry nodded. “OK.”

“Someone should make sure Regina is still in her cell,” Ruby said.

“I’ll do it,” Granny said, lifting the crossbow Emma had been too tired to argue with her about before. Now she was glad that she hadn’t.

“Good, but take someone with you.” Emma leaned over and whispered so the crowd couldn’t hear, “If magic is back, that means she could have her powers.”

“I ain’t afraid of her, girl, but if you insist. Come on, Red.”

“OK. Belle, are you going to be all right?” Ruby asked, giving Moe the eye.

“I’m fine. Bae and I will-” she looked around. “Bae? Baelfire?!”

_Dammit._

XxXxXxX

Bae didn’t know how much time he had, but remembering what it was to be on the streets with nothing, he knew he couldn’t leave town without at least the allowance money he’d been hoarding in the shoebox at the back of his closet. The house wasn’t far, and soon he was at the front door, fumbling with the lock. The piece of pipe on his keyring caught his eye. _Lies. All lies. He was never going to give up his power._

He tore up the stairs, yanking his bedroom door open. He dumped his schoolbooks on the bed, but kept the laptop; it was both valuable and useful. Then he grabbed the money, followed by a change of clothes and his comb. He swung by the bathroom the grab his toothbrush, a towel, and a bar of soap. Back on the first floor, he took his heavy coat from the closet by the stairs. Last was the kitchen, where he raided the knife and utility drawers, coming away with two of the best knives, a flashlight, and several boxes of matches. Finally, he rifled though the cabinets, taking a box of granola bars and a can of mixed nuts. He left by the kitchen door and headed into the woods. It would take a bit longer to reach the road out of town this way, but he would be harder to find. _I hope._

XxXxXxX

David was trying to figure out the best way to get the guns away from Glass without endangering Nova, but so far the solution had eluded him. _Why couldn’t he have used a sword? I’m good with swords._

Glass had forced Nova to drop the potion in the well, and now insisted they simply wait for Regina to arrive. As the minutes ticked by, the genie turned mirror turned reporter grew increasingly anxious, and David was hoping he’d make a mistake David could exploit instead of simply losing patience and shooting Nova anyway. The fairy was terrified and unable to hide it, and it was putting Glass on edge. The phone call David had received earlier - probably from Snow - hadn’t helped matters. His phone was now in pieces on the ground, just like Gold’s.

“Stop crying!” Glass snapped, shaking Nova roughly. “Regina won’t like it!” While true (Regina despised all displays of weakness) Glass’ shouting only made Nova cry harder.

“I’m sure Grumpy’s OK,” David said, hoping that might help calm her down. He shuddered to think what Regina would do if she arrived to find Nova in this state; tears were blood in the water to her.

Suddenly, there was a shimmer of light, and Glass froze. David looked towards the sound of crunching leaves and saw Gold and Leroy, blood-stained, but on their feet. Rumplestiltskin was smirking at Glass, and his left hand was extended in what was obviously a magical gesture. “Hello, dearie.”

“Dreamy!” Nova sobbed. Grumpy smiled.

“You all right, sister?”

Nodding frantically, she hugged him tightly, heedless of the axe and sword he was carrying. David helpfully took his sword back, and Grumpy had a free hand to hold her with. Gold, efficient as always, was already relieving the magically frozen Glass of all firearms. He offered David’s to him without a word, blazing eyes fixed on Glass.

“Thanks. You, ah, all right?”

“It takes more than couple of bullets to end the Dark One, dearie. Now, back to town with you,” he told Glass, “And won’t your mistress be so very pleased that you didn’t wait to see if I was actually dead before you brought magic to Storybrooke? After all, Regina is so very forgiving of those who fail her.”

The Dark One twitched his fingers, and Glass stumbled forward, eyes wide with fear. “Wait-”

Gold leveled Glass’ own gun at him. “No. I’ve business in town. March, unless you’d prefer to make the journey as something less… bipedal.”

“You’re not going to kill me?”

“You’re more use to me alive; I suggest you remain so. March. _Now._ ”

Glass did. David kept pace with Gold, Grumpy and Nova following behind. “You’re bleeding!” Nova suddenly exclaimed.

“Naw, Gold healed me up. That’s from before.”

“What was your price?” David asked immediately.

“His testimony to Bae that I was not the one who brought magic here. And, forthright hero that you are, I expect the same from you. And the fairy.”

“Of course,” Nova said. “Thank you.”

Gold sneered. “No thanks needed, only the truth. And do not embellish; Bae will know if you do.”

She nodded, but then turned back to Leroy. “You’re limping. Does it hurt?”

Immediately, Grumpy shifted himself to hide the limp. “I’m fine, sister; it’s nothing.”

“You’re sure it doesn’t hurt? I thought he’d killed you!”

“Aw, this is nothing. It doesn’t hurt at all.” She gave him a concerned, suspicious look. “Well, maybe a little.” 

“Oh,” she fussed. Gold rolled his eyes. David chucked silently.

But there was business to attend to. “I don’t suppose you have any plans for Regina?” David asked Gold.

“Oh, I’d thought I’d leave that to you and Snow White. Unless she targets Bae or Belle, of course - then I will kill her.”

“You… really?” Frankly, David was already surprised Rumplestiltskin hadn’t simply killed Glass instead of subduing him; he assumed his ‘use’ for the reporter had to do with taking revenge on Regina.

“Neither Bae nor Belle are… tolerant of revenge. Besides, I have larger prey, and Regina’s little stunt has disrupted my plans.”

“The Shadow?”

Gold growled, “Yes.”

“Can’t you just put up those barriers anyway?” Leroy asked. “You’re… you.”

Gold laughed humorlessly. “I am indeed ‘me’, but magic is different here. As you see.” He inclined his head, indicating his still human appearance. _Oh._ “And in any world, you might say that light magic is not my strong suit. I can conjure barriers, certainly, but dark against dark is not as effective as light against dark.” 

“So what are you going to do?” David asked.

“Whatever I need to.”

David didn’t like the sound of that. “Can you make another potion? If it’s for Henry, Snow and I would agree.”

“I’m afraid that one couple’s True Love can only be bottled once. I could make a new potion with a different pair, but the base of it must be brewed for three cycles of full moon to full moon, and the next cycle does not begin for three weeks.”

“So you can have the barrier up in fifteen weeks?”

“And no sooner.”

“Do you know of another pair?” 

“Considering the intended purpose, Henry and Emma would be the ideal candidates.” _Of course._

“You said magic is different; will that affect Regina too?”

“Most certainly. I imagine she is still in her cell and will remain there for some time; without the catalyst of being shot, I doubt even my powers would have returned as quickly as they did.”

“Almost dying _helped_ you?” Grumpy asked incredulously.

“Yes. My powers are very… protective of their bearer.”

“What about the fairy dust?” Nova asked. “Without it, fairies have no magic.”

“I’m aware. Considering how adamant Reul Ghorm was that the potion be used this way, I would be very surprised if diamonds did not start growing in the mines. In fact, I find it rather suspicious that the curse created the mines to begin with; Regina certainly had no use for them, short of the cavern in which she trapped Maleficent.”

“You think Blue is behind this?” Grumpy demanded.

“I think it would be prudent to ask Regina how she knew to have Glass throw the potion in the well. I do not recall revealing that little detail to anyone.”

“I will,” David said grimly.

“Someone’s got to stop her,” Leroy said.

_Yes, but how?_

David knew how to battle villains. He didn’t know how to battle someone who, up until two days ago, had been universally known as the original power for good in the Enchanted Forest. Of everything, that was the most disorienting part of being in this new world; how was he supposed to know the right thing to do when he could not even trust himself to know good from evil? 

Gold said nothing, just walked on, his face grim. It occurred to David that if Grumpy were hurting, Gold probably was too. _He’s leaning on that cane pretty hard._ “We can slow down,” David offered.

“No,” Gold snarled, “We can’t.” He even picked up the pace.

“I’m sure Bae and Belle are fine.”

“I’m sure you’re an imbecile.”

“Hey!” Grumpy objected.

Gold ignored him. David figured that, in this case, discretion was the better part of valor. “It’s OK, Leroy.” Besides, any idiot could see that Rumplestiltskin was frightened. It was unnerving; David had never thought that he was human enough to fear anything, let alone for another person. _For everyone’s sake, I hope Bae and Belle are all right._

They trudged on in tense silence until they reached the town proper. One look at Gold pointing a gun at Glass, and another at Leroy’s blood-soaked jeans (Gold, David had noticed, was still covered with blood as well, but his dark suit hid it much more effectively than Leroy’s faded denim), and the residents of Storybrooke scattered like chickens. 

David was able to wave down one brave soul with a cell phone in order to call Snow. He kept it brief, as Gold simply kept walking, and David wasn’t about to let him out of his sight. “She’ll meet us on the way,” he called, jogging to catch up.

“Good.”

Even better, Belle was with them. Unfortunately, Bae was not. “Belle,” Gold said, passing off the gun to David, “Are you all right?” She looked nervous but nodded. “Where’s Bae?”

Her eyes flicked down and she gasped, “Rumple, you’re bleeding!”

“Never mind that, where’s Bae?”

“Rumple-”

“Please, Belle, where is he?” Gold looked like he was about to start panicking, and that did not bode well for anyone.

“I’m so sorry, Rumple,” she said, “But he ran away. We don’t know where he is.”

“He… you… YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WATCH HIM!” the Dark One roared.

Almost everyone took a step back. Belle didn’t, although she cringed. “I’m sorry,” she said tearfully, “I checked the house; he was there, but gone before I reached it. Can you find him with magic?”

“Magic…” Horror replaced rage. “The town line.” He made a gesture, and suddenly David, Grumpy, Nova, and Rumplestiltskin appeared on the road out of town in a cloud of purple smoke. As the smoke cleared, David saw Bae several yards ahead, looking back at them with the same expression of horror Rumplestiltskin has worn just a moment before. “Bae, wait!” Gold cried, reaching out for his son.

“No, no… Stay away from me!”

“Bae, please! I didn’t do this! It was Sydney Glass, on Regina’s orders!”

“It’s true, Bae,” David said. “Glass found us in the woods, he shot your Dad and Leroy, and took Nova and me hostage. He made Nova drop the potion into the wishing well, because Regina told him to.”

“That’s right, kid,” Leroy grunted, and Nova nodded earnestly. Bae looked at Leroy, and David saw the furrow in his brow as he took in the blood. Then he looked at Gold, and David could see that he saw the blood there too.

He shook his head. “No… this is a trick. That’s what he does; he lies.”

“It’s not a lie,” David said.

“Please, Bae,” Gold called again, desperately, “I didn’t do this; let me prove it to you. I’ll do anything. I’ll… I’ll give you the dagger.”

Bae jumped back as if burned. Gold gasped to see him take that one step closer to the town line. “I don’t want it!” Bae protested, terrified by the very idea.

“Please listen, Bae,” David tried again. “Your Dad didn’t do this. It was Sydney Glass and Regina.”

Bae shook his head. “How do I know he’s not just making you say that? He can do that, you know.”

Gold looked stricken. Leroy gave him a considering look, then sucker-punched the pawnbroker in the face. Rumplestiltskin cried out, and a backlash of magic blasted Grumpy off his feet into the ditch.

“Dreamy!” Nova cried.

Grumpy sat up immediately, shaking his head like a dog shaking off water and grinning like a fool. “Worth it.”

Rumplestiltskin was clutching his nose. A purple glow flared for a moment, and David presumed he was healing himself. When he removed his hand, his nose looked undamaged, though there was blood in his lip. “See,” David said before Gold could, “He’s not controlling us.”

“Please,” Gold repeated, his voice thick with desperation, “Bae, I don’t know what crossing that line could do to you.”

“Take me away from magic,” the boy said, taking another small step back.

“Bae, this magic, it’s tied to the curse. You were cursed. There could be side effects.”

“Like what?” Bae scoffed, disbelieving.

“I don’t know. Bae, please, Pan is out there!” _He’s terrified. Rumplestiltskin is terrified for his son._

Baelfire was terrified too. Terrified enough of Pan that that argument was enough to sway him when nothing else had. After an unbearable pause, Bae asked, “You’ll give me the dagger?”

“ _Yes._ Bae, just stay, _please._ ” Horrified, David realized that Rumplestiltskin was crying.

Baelfire was shaking, but he walked towards his father with slow deliberate steps. “Do it then.”

Rumplestiltskin let out a sharp sigh of relief. “You’ll stay?”

“Just do it.” It was a test. 

Rumplestiltskin passed. A small swirl of purple smoke, and a large dagger inscribed with Rumplestiltskin’s name appeared in his left hand. His right still gripped his cane, knuckles white with fear. Hesitantly, he presented the dagger to his son.

Baelfire reached for the dagger as if it physically pained him to do it, his hand shaking terribly. He held his hand just above the hilt, fingers poised as if to take it. No one moved. After a long, tense moment, Bae withdrew his hand, leaving the dagger where it was. “Get it out of my sight,” he said.

“Bae-”

“I’ll go with you, just get it out of my sight!” Another swirl of smoke, and the dagger vanished. Rumplestiltskin reached out for his son, but the boy flinched violently. “Don’t touch me!”

Rumplestiltskin snatched his hand back immediately. Not saying a word, arms crossed, shoulders hunched, Bae pushed past him on his way back down the road. After a moment, Rumplestiltskin followed. David let him walk a few steps before following himself. He was ashamed to admit it, but he couldn’t bear to look at the expression on Rumplestiltskin’s face.

_I didn’t even think he was human._

_I really need to read the rest of Henry’s Book._


	7. Advice Given

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains spoilers for the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman and for Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

Rumplestiltskin walked stiffly, rage, terror, and relief at war within him. The strain of being shot, his magic returning, and then healing himself did not help matters in the least. He hadn’t been lying about magic being different here; what would have been effortless in the Enchanted Forest had drained him. As tired as he was, he was grateful they were walking back. Aside from the fact that Bae wouldn’t like it, Rumplestiltskin didn’t think he had the energy to transport them all back to town.

It also gave him time to regret shouting at Belle. _She’s probably packing her bags right now. Just as well; she was never going to stay._ No one had - no one until Bae, and then only as long as Rumplestiltskin was powerless. _At least he agreed to come back. But for how long?_ It was inevitable. Rumplestiltskin drove away those he loved, always.

He nearly flinched when Charming spoke. “You said something about side effects of crossing the town line; do you have any idea what they might be?”

“No. I don’t even know if there are any, but I will not take the risk, not with Bae.”

“Could you take a look? Figure it out? We need to know.”

“Possibly, but not immediately. To know for certain, I suggest you toss Glass over the line and see what happens to him. This was his doing, after all.”

“What about Regina?” the dwarf asked hopefully. “She was calling the shots.”

“Indeed. Unfortunately, as the caster of the curse, she has always been exempt from its effects. She can likely still cross unharmed, but that may not be true for the rest of us. Likewise with Emma, Henry, and Mr. Booth. And possibly Reul Ghorm,” he added bitterly.

“What are you going to do about the Shadow?” Rumplestiltskin saw Bae shudder. He imagined pulling Regina’s heart from her chest. It wasn’t as soothing as he had hoped. 

“Make sure I have all the ingredients I need to brew a new potion. Put up blood wards over my shop and home. I _will not_ allow him to take Bae.”

“And Henry?”

“It would be best if Emma placed those wards herself. I can teach her if she is willing.”

“What if she’s not?”

Rumplestiltskin pinned Charming with a baleful stare. “Convince her.”

XxXxXxX

Belle paced as she waited for Rumplestiltskin to return. Mary Margaret was watching her out of the corner of her eye while she directed people, and she suspected that both Archie and August were doing the same, but they all had the courtesy to leave her alone while she tried to master herself.

She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if her inattention caused something to happen to Baelfire. _He’s already been though so much. And it would destroy Rumple._ She knew that with utter certainty. Rumple loved his son enough to move worlds. It was him, she realized, that he’d been thinking of when he let Robin Hood live. Belle had a place in Rumplestiltskin’s heart, but Baelfire was at its center. 

Belle looked up when she heard a commotion, but it was Emma and her party returning, not Rumple. Mary Margaret had called Emma after David had called her (and again after Rumple had disappeared), and Emma and the dwarves had doubled back immediately. “I checked in with Ruby,” she said, “Regina’s staying put for now. Apparently, she’s having some trouble with her powers, or something. I take it Gold isn’t?”

Snow shook her head, “I don’t think so. But he looks different. Or rather, the same.” Belle had noticed that too.

Emma quirked an eyebrow. “Care to explain that one?”

“He has magic, but he looks human.”

“And that’s bad?”

“It’s not how he looked back home. I don’t know what it means that he doesn’t look like the Dark One but still had his powers.”

“Maybe it’s like Archie; he’s not a cricket here.”

“Maybe,” Mary Margaret frowned. “I wish we could ask Blue.”

“No way; we’d have a better chance getting a straight answer out of Gold.”

“I know,” the Queen said sadly. _It must be terrible for her, to have been betrayed so._ Belle thought of her father - she was so angry with him - but it wasn’t the same. _He was trying to save me; the Blue Fairy used Queen Snow and her daughter. She’s as bad as Rumple ever was._ Worse, really, as Rumple had always been quick to remind everyone he was a monster. _He’s not, but still you knew to be wary._ Reul Ghorm hid her machinations behind a veneer of goodness; those she betrayed never saw it coming.

“What are we going to do with him?” Emma asked, gesturing to Glass, who was restrained and being watched carefully by August and a young man Mary Margaret had referred to as Frederick. “Probably not a good idea to keep him and Regina in the same place.”

Snow nodded. “That’s why we didn’t take him to the Sheriff’s Station. We might have to keep him at the hospital.”

Belle shuddered at the idea, but the man had attacked Rumple. Tried to kill him, in fact, if she’d overheard correctly. And, even with his magic returned, he was not unharmed. Was he in pain at this moment? Had he found Baelfire? She wished she had one of those phones so she could call him, or that he’d taken her with him. As it was, all she could do was wait.

So she did. She waited and paced, keeping an eye out for Rumple and for her father. Ruby and Mary Margaret, thankfully, had chased Maurice off earlier, but Belle did not trust that he would not return to try to ‘save’ her. For his sake as well as her own, she hoped he would not; if Rumple learned exactly why Belle had lost track of Baelfire, he would not react well. 

Eventually, just as she had hoped, Rumple returned with David, Grumpy, Nova, and - thankfully - Baelfire. She hurried over. “Rumple! Bae!”

Bae looked unhurt but miserable, shoulders hunched defensively. He looked up when she called his name, but said nothing. Rumple took a step back, his expression wary. There were still two holes in his clothing, wet with blood, but he seemed to pay them no mind; his eyes were fixed on her. “Are you both all right?” she asked, once she was close enough not to shout.

Bae shifted but said nothing. Rumple looked at him then back to her. “Belle, I…”

“What is it? Are you hurt?” she looked again at the blood on his front. 

“No, I…” he was staring at her like he could not comprehend why she was even there. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out, “I should not have shouted at you.”

That’s what he was worried about? _Silly man._ “Oh, Rumple,” she said, stepping closer, “He’s your son; of course you were frightened.” She reached out for him. He took another step back, bringing his left arm up to cover the bloody holes in his clothing.

“Ah, best not. I should… change. Bae, will you… come home?”

Bae jumped. He’d been staring at Sydney Glass. He looked at Rumple, then wordlessly began walking. Heart in his eyes, Rumple followed. As close as she dared, Belle followed Rumple. She did not miss how heavily he was leaning on his cane. 

Belle was not given to hate; it wasn’t in her nature. But after this, on top of everything else, she thought she might be starting to truly hate Regina.

XxXxXxX

August watched the Golds and Belle as they headed home. Most of the crowd, he was sure, was glad to see them go. Or glad to see Rumplestiltskin go, at any rate. The exchange between Belle and Rumplestiltskin had obviously confused many of them. A week ago, August wouldn’t have believed it either, but after all he’s seen since then he wasn’t terribly surprised by it.

His attention shifted to the dwarves, who were clustering around Grumpy. “What ha-ha-ha-choo!-happened?” Sneezy asked.

“I punched Gold in the face!” Grumpy declared with a triumphant grin. August raised an eyebrow.

“And… you’re still alive?” Bashful asked incredulously.

“Well, I sure ain’t no zombie, sister,” Grumpy declared.

“Grumpy,” Snow scolded.

“No, I had to! The kid wanted proof he wasn’t controlling us, so… I gave it to him.” August had to grin. He wasn’t given to violence himself, but he had to appreciate the reasoning (and the mental image) that Leroy gave. And it might even be true, for all he knew.

“You should let me have a look at that,” Doc said, gesturing to Leroy’s blood-soaked leg. 

“It’s fine. Gold healed it up.”

“Before or after you punched him?” Happy asked, grinning more widely than August was.

“Before, when we went after Glass.”

“Why don’t you tell us everything from the beginning,” Emma said, “Some of us are missing some details here.”

“In a moment,” Snow said, “First, what should we do with Sydney?”

The man in question shifted, and August watched closely in case he tried to do a runner; but no, he just looked around, as if hoping Regina would swoop in any minute to save him. It was almost sad - or would have been, if he hadn’t tried to kill two people and put everyone (but especially Henry) in danger from Pan. And Regina, for that matter. August was truly relieved that he could move again and that the pain was gone (and that he wouldn’t die if he screwed up again) but that wouldn’t be much help if Regina went on a magic-fuelled rampage. He was sure Rumplestiltskin could take her out, but August knew the man couldn’t give two fucks for anyone is town other than Bae and Belle; minimizing civilian casualties was unlikely to be high on his list of priorities.

“I like Gold’s idea,” Grumpy said.

“Grumpy,” Charming chided, with a long-suffering sigh.

“Why shouldn’t he be the guinea pig? This mess is his fault.”

“What are you talking about?” Emma asked.

“Gold thinks there could be some kind of side-effect of crossing the town line,” Charming explained. “He said the best way to test it was to send someone across; he thinks it should be Glass.”

“Why not Regina?” Sleepy asked.

“Because the curse didn’t affect her like it affected us,” Grumpy said. “She can still leave if she wants to.” 

“Does that sound right to you?” Emma asked Nova, “You’re our magical expert here.”

“I… I suppose so. I don’t really know about curses, though.”

“It does make sense,” Emma said with a sigh. 

“Emma, you can’t possibly mean we should force someone across!” Queen Snow said, scandalized. _Why the hell not? This is his fault._

“I meant the Regina thing. But we should talk about that too; someone should probably try it. Why not the guy that caused it?”

It blew up in to quite the debate, and August did find it just a little bit amusing to watch Glass squirm as they discussed “chucking” him across, to quote Leroy. In the end, Queen Snow agreed to offer Glass a choice: his cell in the hospital, or crossing the town line, after which he could go free. He chose to gamble with the line, and that was how they learned that anyone who crossed it reverted to their cursed selves, presumably forever. When he heard that, August was incredibly thankful that Baelfire hadn’t made it across. 

The first time Rumplestiltskin almost lost his son, he became the Dark One. The second time, he spent centuries tearing the worlds asunder. August didn’t know about anyone else, but he really didn’t want to see what was behind door number three.

XxXxXxX

“Hello, dearie.” Regina looked up, startled. Rumple was standing in the doorway. “Having a little trouble with your magic? I’m not.”

“What are you doing here?” Granny demanded, pointing her crossbow at Gold. He just quirked an eyebrow at it and continued to swagger towards Regina’s cell.

“Just checking on the prisoner. The fallen fairy means well, but if she gets loose, you’re going to need me.”

“So you’re not going to just kill me now?” Regina taunted. If she were going to die today, she would go out a Queen. “You have gone soft. And you’re still limping.”

He smirked and lifted his cane, twirling it as he walked towards her in two steady feet. Damn. “Not soft. I just have priorities; and you, my dear, are not high on the list.”

“But still worth a visit, apparently.”

“Consider it a professional courtesy.”

“Courtesy? You?” Granny snorted too, which was more gratifying than it should have been.

“Yes. I’m guessing no one has bothered to tell you the danger your little stunt has put young Henry in?”

She slammed her hand into the bars. “Don’t you go near him!”

“Oh, not from me, dearie, but all magic comes with a price. I’d have thought you learned that already with your little sleeping curse, but here we are again. One of these days, you’re going to do something you can’t undo, and Henry will be suffering the consequences.”

“You dropped your son through a portal,” she accused, “I would never do that to Henry.”

“You may already have; you just don’t know it yet.”

“What are you babbling about?”

“That potion your genie stole from me; I was going to use it to place protective barriers around Storybrooke.”

“I know that; the blue bug told me.” Ruby and Granny exchanged a look, and Rumple nodded knowingly.

“Ah, there it is. I do assume she didn’t tell you what the barriers were for?”

“To protect your kid from some enemy of yours, not that that narrowed it down at all. That’s what you told her, anyway. What’s the real story, Rumple? What was your plan?”

Rumple laughed, and Regina longed for her magic just so she could set fire to that expensive suit. “Reul Ghorm already told you, although she seems to have left out an important detail. Pan is a threat to Bae, certainly, but his real target is Henry. And thanks to you, it will be months before I can put up the barriers needed to protect your son from him.”

“Pan? Of Neverland? He wants Henry?”

Rumple smirked. “Oh, not all of him, dearie - just his heart.”

Regina felt like he’d dropped her in a freezing lake. And she would know; he had actually done it before - more than once. “How do you know that?” she demanded.

“Bae,” he said, coming closer. “That’s were he’s been: Neverland. A fact Reul Ghorm very conveniently kept from me.”

“Why should I believe anything your brat says? Or anything you say he said?”

He sneered, but removed a piece of paper from his jacket. He unfolded it and showed it to her. It was a portrait. “Look familiar?” It did. “Bae drew this. Poor Tinker Bell, it seems, ended up in Neverland some time after your little adventure with the pixie dust. Did you know that?”

“Mother sent her there.”

“Ah. I did wonder. I also wondered how you knew Bae was there, and why you never gave him a cursed identity when you didn’t know who he was to me. But you never intended to take him at all, did you? You sent the curse after Tinker Bell, and it took Bae instead.”

She had sent the curse after the fairy. She’d assumed the magic of Neverland was enough to stop it, and that was why she’d never seen Tinker Bell in Storybrooke. Within the borders of his own land, Pan was even more powerful than Rumple or Blue; if he didn’t want Regina taking one of his prizes, he could stop her. And now he wanted Henry. _If Rumple is telling the truth, and how often does that happen?_ “You know what she looks like; you could have conjured that.”

He sighed. “Believe as you will; you always do. But do stay out of my way Regina, for everyone’s sake. Especially your own.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”

He stepped closer. “Oh, yes. Understand this: the only reason you are still alive is because Bae and Belle wish it. Bae made a deal with me, you see. I’m not allowed to hurt you.” He paused dramatically, and Regina’s second eyebrow joined her first. “Any more than is required to stop you.”

“Stop me from what?”

“Oh, Bae didn’t exactly specify, but I know what he meant. He is a kindhearted soul.”

“I guess the apple fell far from that tree,” Regina scoffed. Granny snorted again.

He smirked, stepping ever closer. He was stalking her like prey, and in their current situation (him with magic, her without), Regina would be lying to say it wasn’t making her the tiniest bit nervous. But that kind of thing had never stopped Regina; she quashed it easily and stared him down. 

“Oh, indeed,” he continued, “For myself, I don’t give a damn if you burn this town to the ground as long as you leave Bae and Belle alone. But Bae? He cares about these people. So that means: if you go after Emma… if you go after Snow… if you so much as bother the cricket’s dog… I’ll be there, waiting, to stop you.” 

“Us too,” the younger werewolf said. The old one nodded. 

Regina sneered. “I cursed you once, I can do it again.”

Rumple chuckled, shaking his head. “Regina, Regina, haven’t you been paying attention? I let you curse me. And them. But now I have what I want, and you’re no longer of use to me.”

Regina stared. “It’s true, everything in the Book. You used me to find your son.”

“Ah… yeah,” he nodded jovially. “And you performed that task even more admirably than I anticipated. I suppose I might owe you for that, but then I owe you for Belle as well.”

“I didn’t kill her. I could have.”

He - literally - bared his teeth at her. “Oh, you did worse, and you know it. You kept her alive so you could kill her when it suited you.”

“Is that what you’re doing now?”

He shook his head. “No, no. Haven’t you been listening? If you sit here quietly in your little cell, I can’t touch you. If I end up killing you, it will only be because you gave me the excuse. For everyone’s sake, Regina: don’t.”

And then he walked away. She focused, trying to sir up a spark - anything - to wipe that smug smile off his face, but nothing happened. As he passed the wolves, he half-turned. “And Regina?”

“What?” she snapped.

“If you go after Reul Ghorm… well, I might just let you have that one.” The old wolf scowled, and Red rolled her eyes.

Once he’d gone, Red turned to her. “He was telling the truth about Bae; he’s the one who told us about Pan and Henry. If you care for Henry at all, take Gold’s advice - stay out of his way.”

“And ours,” Granny said. “While we try to clean up your mess.”

Regina rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you both go play fetch?”

“Why don’t you put Henry first, for once?” Red asked, accusingly. “You know, Snow always thought you could be better. She felt sorry for you, because of what Cora did. But if you can’t put your darkness aside for your son, I guess she was wrong; you’re a monster, and you always were.”  
_  
No, I wasn’t! Mother and Rumple made me this way! And now he has everything, and I have nothing! Just wait until I get my magic back. You fleabags will be the first to go, and then nothing - nothing! - will keep me from my son!_

Outwardly, Regina only sneered. “Well, then I guess that makes three of us.”

XxXxXxX

Dreamy was too stubborn to go to the hospital, so Doc took him home (“I guess I’ve got to change anyway,” Dreamy had said gruffly), while the rest of their brothers helped Emma escort Sydney Glass to the town line. After they’d gone, Nova was at loose ends. She would have liked to have gone with Dreamy, but it was just too soon, and she could tell that he didn’t want her to see him like that. 

Yesterday she’d been helping Ruby with the photographs, but only until August - Pinocchio - had arrived looking for Mary Margaret and Emma. She’d tripped right into him, and they’d ended up on the ground in a heap. Nova still felt terrible about it; he’d been in pain to start with, and Nova falling on top of him hadn’t helped at all.

It was horrible, what Blue had done to him and Emma and everyone else. Oh, she probably thought it was for the greater good, but she’d ruined lives in pursuit of that goal. She might preach the virtues of light magic, but she’d wielded it like a weapon, and anyone looking at August now would say he was cursed. And he’d still been kind. Somewhat baffled to be immediately pressed into doing missing person sketches (his drawing of the Apprentice had impressed Mary Margaret and Archie) but happy enough to be given a job to do, she thought, and as patient with her as Ruby, Granny, and Archie had been. 

Nova wished that she had a talent like that. She’d been so flustered after knocking August over that she’d started getting the photographs mixed up, and Ruby had waved her off, telling her to “go help Granny.” Granny hadn’t needed help, nor had Mary Margaret or Archie. In the end, she’d simply wandered around the rest of the afternoon, trying to direct people to others that could help them better.

And now she couldn’t even do that. The crowd was gone, and Ruby and Granny were off guarding Regina; Nova would be no use there. David and Mary Margaret were speaking quietly, and she did not want to disturb them. Frederick had left with Princess Abigail, and only Henry, Archie, August, and Geppetto remained. After chatting a bit (Geppetto and August had embraced sweetly, and it had made Nova miss Dreamy and her sisters both), they started stacking chairs and gathering up litter and paperwork. She probably couldn’t be trusted not to topple the chairs (or lose the paperwork), but she could help with the litter.

“Hi, Nova!” Henry said, as she approached, waving cheerfully.

She waved back. “Hello, Henry. Can I help?”

“Of course! Archie wants to gather everything to bring inside the Town Hall; it’s supposed to rain tonight.”

“OK. Where are the trash bags?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Over by the display boards,” Archie offered, gathering up a large box of colored pencils.

“Thank you.”

August was there, stacking chairs. “Hey,” he said, “You all right?”

She smiled shyly. “Yes, thank you for asking. Are you? The magic…”

He shook his head. “No complaints here; I can move again.”

“Does it still… hurt?”

“No. It just feels a little weird where the wood and human parts meet.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s really not bad. I guess it’s kind of like being a cyborg, except, you know, with wood. Which, you have to admit, sounds pretty cool.”

“Yes, it does!” Henry cheered. August chuckled.

“I don’t know what a cyborg is,” Nova admitted, embarrassed. Her cursed memories were as sheltered as her real ones. A parochial schoolgirl who had immediately entered the Order, she’d never gone anywhere or done anything interesting; she didn’t even understand the music and television references Ruby kept making. And it was worse talking to someone as worldly as August; she imagined that he had to have seen everything, even if the tales he shared about his travels weren’t always entirely truthful (Ruby was still irritated about the story with the lemurs).

“A cyborg is someone who is part human and part robot. Like Darth Vader. Or Luke Skywalker, for that matter.”

“I… don’t know who they are either.”

“Really?” August looked annoyed. “I take it the convent doesn’t have movie night? Probably the same reason Regina kept the library closed; Blue wouldn’t want you getting ideas.”

It did make sense. The Blue Fairy had never encouraged independence or, Nova thought, creativity. They weren’t even supposed to call each other by their names, only colors. “Maybe,” she mumbled, looking at the ground.

August cringed. “Sorry, that was probably out of line.”

“No, no, you have a point. Blue doesn’t like it when fairies start questioning things. She’ll probably take my wings now that magic is back, like she did to Tinker Bell.”

August stared. “That’s… she can do that?”

“Of course; she has absolute authority over all fairies. To defy her is to reject being a fairy.”

“That’s disgusting! She shouldn’t be allowed to do that; you should tell David and Mary Margaret. We’re not in the Enchanted Forest anymore, and even if we were, who gave her that authority anyway?”

Nova blinked. “I don’t know; it’s just always been that way.”

“Well, it’s wrong; no wonder no one ever questioned her! God, it’s like we went from Disney to His Dark Materials.”

“Who’s?” She lowered her voice, “The Dark One?”

“No, no; it’s a book series. Near the end you find out that Satan was right and God is the bad guy. Although the Metatron is the real asshole.”

“That’s…” _Blasphemous. And yet…_ “Interesting.” 

August laughed humorlessly. “It’s worth a read. Maybe Belle will get a copy for the library.”

“Maybe they already have one; the library does have a lot of books.”

“It does? Good. Although I’m assuming the collection hasn’t been updated since 1983; the series is more recent than that.” 

“Oh.” Nova didn’t know what kinds of books had been published in the past 28 years. She didn’t know anything.

“Of course, if you want something a little less depressing, Good Omens is a lot more fun.”

“Is God a… villain in that too?”

“Well, I guess that depends on your interpretation. He’s trying to bring about Armageddon, so from humanity’s perspective - yes, probably.”

Nova frowned. “And that is… fun?”

“What’s fun is how it doesn’t happen. A comedy of errors… for the apocalypse,” he said with a grin. “The final battle between good and evil, diverted by a mix-up and a kid who just… wants to be a kid.”

She smiled. “That does sound nice. It has a happy ending then?”

“As happy as I’ve ever read… except for those bikers.”

Nova smiled. “I bet you’ve read a lot.”

“I guess,” he replied, almost sheepish.

“I haven’t,” she confessed. “I haven’t done anything. I don’t _know_ anything.” _I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m no longer a nun or a fairy, and I can’t stay at Granny’s forever. And Dreamy - what am I going to do about Dreamy?_

“You know magic; that’s why Mary Margaret brought you in. You’re the only magic expert we can trust right now.” 

“I’m no expert,” she said, “I was a terrible fairy.”

“Hey, you walked out on Blue; as far as I’m concerned, that makes you the only fairy any of us can trust. I bet she’s the one who told you you were terrible, wasn’t she?” He was frowning, his arms crossed over his chest. 

Nova looked down. “She told me I might never be a fairy godmother.”

“Fuck her.” Nova stared, her eyes wide, and August himself look startled by his own language. “Er, sorry. But seriously, don’t listen to a word she says.”

“But she was right. I’ll never be a fairy godmother now.”

“Why not?”

“Because I left the Order; I’m a fallen fairy now.”

“So? Freelance! God knows Blue could use the competition.”

Nova gaped. Her? _Compete? With the Blue Fairy?_ “Without wings? Without fairy dust?”

“I don’t… Blue shouldn’t take your wings. You really should talk to Mary Margaret and David about that; she doesn’t have that right. And the dust - the dwarves mine for it, don’t they? I can think of a least one who’ll make sure you get your share,” he said with a teasing grin.

She smiled shyly, but explained, “They don’t get to decide that.”

“Who does? Blue? If she wanted to keep calling those shots, she shouldn’t have dragged us all to land that outlawed slavery 150 years ago.”

“What? Dwarves aren’t slaves!”

“Do they get paid?”

“I… no.”

“Are they allowed to leave if they want to?”

“The only one who ever wanted to was Dreamy…”

“And Blue stopped him.”

“Yes,” she said quietly.

“Sounds like slavery to me. They’re the ones that mine the dust; they should have a say in where it goes.”

Nova shook her head. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me.”

“It’s… that’s just how it’s done.”

“Well, ‘how it’s done’ led us here; I can’t say I’m a fan. Maybe it’s time to try something different.” _Isn’t that what I wanted? To try something different?_ “Look, this is probably none of my business, but what you’re telling me… Blue manipulates people. She controls them. It’s wrong. If you want to be a fairy godmother, she has no right to stop you. But if you want to wash your hands of this whole mess, well, can’t say that I’d blame you for that either. Do whatever you want to do. Be a fairy godmother. Be a waitress. Open a paintball range. Whatever you want; but don’t think you can’t do something just because Blue told you so.” He looked at his wooden hand. 

“Did she tell you something like that?”

He grimaced, and his hand creaked as he clenched it into a fist. “Not exactly. But she did tell me that the only way I could help Emma was to send her to jail, so… yeah. She’s not exactly a reliable source. Don’t listen to her; I shouldn’t have.” 

There was an awkward silence, and Nova looked at the ground. She looked up when August said, “Hey, Belle.”

“Hello, August. How are you?”

“Fully mobile,” he answered, waving with his left hand.

“That’s great,” Belle said with a smile. “And how are you?” she asked Nova. _Confused. Frightened._

She smiled. “Fine. Is… Mr. Gold all right?”

Belle nodded, still smiling. “Yes, thank you for asking. He went to talk to Regina; he thinks Reul Ghorm told her about the well and the potion.”

“I knew it!” August said.

“Will he… hurt her?”

“He gave me his word not to.”

Nova nodded. “Good.”

“I wanted to ask you something.” 

“Yes?”

Belle was carrying a key, and she held it out to Nova. “This may be forward, but… this is the key to the library. There’s an apartment above it. It’s meant for the caretaker, but I obviously don’t need it, and I thought… would you like to help me with the library? Then you could stay there if you wish.”

Nova stared at the key. “You… truly?”

Belle nodded. “Yes. But only if you want to.”

Her own space. A job. It wasn’t her dream, but it was another step away from Blue and into the world. And wasn’t that her dream? To experience the world instead of just flying above it? 

_Is this what it feels like to have a fairy godmother?_

With a shaking hand, she took the key. “Thank you. Yes.”


	8. Learning as We Go

Belle had said that Rumplestiltskin might find her at the library after he concluded his business with Regina, and so he did. The fairy must have accepted her proposal, for he heard them chatting excitedly, deep in the stacks. Bae was closer to the door, browsing the shelves and clutching his box of colored pencils to his chest. Rumplestiltskin couldn’t think of anything to say, but Bae must have seen his questioning look.

“I left them behind,” he said, “Archie gathered them up for me.”

“That was kind of him.”

Bae nodded, and turned back to the books. “He wanted to know if I’d be seeing him on Wednesday.”

“Do you want to?”

“Yes.”

“Then do. I don’t… I don’t intend to keep you prisoner, Bae.”

“Like before?” he asked accusingly. “Did you ‘intend to’ then?”

“I couldn’t see it then. Not until Pan…” But it had already been too late by then, and he’d overcompensated. It was madness to take Baelfire with him when he killed the maid, but he’d been so angry at being confined and that Rumplestiltskin had not trusted him; Rumplestiltskin had been trying to avoid a fight and only succeed in provoking a worse one.

“Did he take you to Neverland?”

“What?”

“You said that you knew him as a child. Did it take you?” Rumplestiltskin had been hoping Bae would never ask the details of his history with Pan, but he also knew it had been a futile hope. Bae always wanted to know; he was like Belle that way. Or had been; suspicion drove him now as much as curiosity, and Rumplestiltskin knew that was his fault too.

“He didn’t… take me. I went with him willingly, but he banished me soon after.”

“Why?”

“Because I knew him when he was… human. I was a threat to his belief that he is as he appears now. A boy.”

Bae looked at him sharply. “You mean he’s not?”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “No. He’s a man. Or he was. I don’t know how much of what he was remains in him.” 

Bae gave him a significant look, but Rumplestiltskin could not discern its meaning. Then he asked, “Why did you go with him?”

Oh, how Rumplestiltskin wished Bae had not asked that. But he could not lie, or refuse to answer. Bae deserved as much of the truth as he could muster. “Because the life I had was an unhappy one. I thought it would be better with him, there.”

“So he lied to you.”

 _Often._ “He didn’t know, then, how the magic worked. It was only after he learned I was a threat that he sent me away. But after knowing what he’s done to the boys he did keep…” _Like you - Gods, Bae, I’m so sorry._ “It was a mercy, even if he did not intend it as such. And I’d have never had you. I can never regret that, no matter what came before. Or after. I regret… much. But never, never that.”

Bae said nothing, and Rumplestiltskin let him keep his silence. After some moments, Belle and Nova’s voices grew louder, and they entered the lobby, grinning. “Rumple!” Belle greeted, and Rumplestiltskin could not help but smile. “Nova had a wonderful idea!”

“Oh?” he asked mildly, as the fairy shifted nervously.

“A children’s room for the library! We’ll have to move some shelves, but there’s space back there,” she waved in the direction they had come. “Think of it; a room just for children to read, and to have adults read to them!”

She was so excited he could not feel as angry as he ought that she didn’t already know about children’s rooms being common in public libraries. It was knowledge Regina should have given her, but instead of lamenting the lack, she simply celebrated each new idea as it was presented to her. She was a marvel, his Belle. “That is a splendid idea, sweetheart.”

XxXxXxX

Belle knew that Rumple was tired, and she knew that Bae was upset. It was for that reason that she did not linger at the library after showing Nova the apartment. The fairy had been profusely grateful - if a bit subdued in Rumple’s presence - and Belle knew that she’d done the right thing. And it would be so nice to have a friend to help her with the library.

But right now Bae and Rumple both needed her. Rumple insisted on placing wards all around the house, and by suppertime Belle could see he was truly exhausted (though she knew he would deny it outright if she commented on it). Bae just watched him through sad, dark eyes, a frightened boy needing his father, but too scared and hurt to act upon it. 

Rumple also insisted on making dinner, but was happy enough to have Belle’s help with that. Bae set up his drawing things in the dining room again, and kept glancing at Rumple as he worked. When Belle began to set the table, he got up to help her, but still would not speak. He ate with them, answering Belle’s questions with single-word responses and Rumple’s not at all. It was disrespectful, but, like Rumple, Bae was clearly afraid (for good reason) and Belle did not have the heart to chastise him for it. Nor did she think Rumple would respond well if she did; Bae was his son, and he was terribly protective of him.

By ten, Belle could see that Rumple was done in. If she didn’t take him upstairs, he was likely to fall asleep at his wheel, where he’d spun (wool, not straw) while Bae drew and Belle read, often glancing up as if to verify that they were both still there. She smiled at him every time she caught him at it, and he would look away shyly, a ghost of a smile curving his lips for just a few moments before vanishing. She would have to ask him to show her how to spin someday when he wasn’t so careworn and weary.

“Come to bed,” she said, rubbing his shoulders lightly. “You need rest. And I would like your company.”

He stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief. _Why does he find it so hard to believe in us? In me?_ “If that is your wish,” he said finally, his voice soft.

She smiled and hugged him across his shoulders. “It is.”

He got up slowly, still leaning heavily on his cane. What had injured him so? _Was it Regina? Or something old, from before he became the Dark One?_ She would ask, but not tonight. “Bae,” he said, hesitantly. “Will you go to bed?”

Bae looked up from his drawing, then back down again. After a long pause, he answered, “Later.”

 _He’s frightened of Pan,_ Belle realized. _Of his Shadow._ Rumple realized the same thing, reassuring him, “The wards - the Shadow cannot take you from here. You’re safe.”

“What about Henry?”

“I’ll be calling David tomorrow. Hopefully, he will have convinced Emma to let me teach her how to place the wards on the loft. If he hasn’t, I’ll have a word with her.”

Bae nodded, but said nothing. “Goodnight, Bae,” Rumple said, adding a timid, “Sleep well.” Bae still said nothing.

It hurt, to see them both suffering so, but this was not something Belle could mend; it was between father and son, and not her place. Tomorrow, she hoped, things would look brighter, and they could begin. They would overcome this in time; she knew that in her heart. “Goodnight,” she said, leading Rumple upstairs.

Once they entered his - their - bedroom, he became shy. Painfully so. He offered her the use of the washroom first, and did not so much as remove his tie in her presence. When she emerged wearing the shirt of the nightclothes he’d lent her but not the trousers, he blushed and looked away, but could not hide his smile. She kissed him, and he kissed back, sweetly, hesitantly, as if afraid he might be imposing on her in her state of undress. 

Afraid she might actually be imposing on him, Belle pulled back and waved him into the washroom to get changed. She was in bed when he returned, and she extended a hand to him. He limped over to the bed, leaned his cane against the nightstand, and sat, taking her hand and smiling at her.

“Come lie down,” she beckoned, pulling lightly at his hand. He did. She turned off the light, and snuggled right up against him, nuzzling his jaw. It was scratchy with whiskers, but she did not mind it, just as she would not have minded the scales - not if she could be beside him like this. “I love you,” she said.

“And I love you,” he replied, shifting so he could kiss her fully.

He was too tired (and she was not ready) to do more than kiss, but for their first night together, she thought it was perfect.

XxXxXxX

“Hello, Dreamy.”

Leroy nearly fell out of his chair. He and Bashful were taking their shift guarding Regina; he’d volunteered so that Red and Granny would be free to check on Nova. She’d been through a lot today, but he was respecting her wishes to stay away from her. It was hard. It was really, really hard.

But now here she was. He’d have wondered if he was dreaming, but she would not have looked so nervous if he were. “Hey,” he said, “You doing all right?”

She smiled a nodded. “I got a job. And an apartment.”

“Woah, really? That’s great! Where?”

“At the library. Belle offered me the caretaker’s apartment if I help her open it. She already gave me the key; it has a lovely view.”

He remembered how she liked a nice view. He did too, and only because of her. “That’s great. You’ll be a great librarian.”

“Well, I’ll need something else for expenses and such, but Ruby and Granny offered to help until I can find something. Belle also said she might be able to negotiate a salary for me.”

“They’re good people.” All the same, he wished that he were the one helping her, offering her a place to stay. But this was her own apartment, permanent, and away from Blue; he owed Belle big for that one.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Huh?”

“Your leg; does it still hurt?”

“Naw,” he lied, “Good as new.”

“That’s good. I just… wanted to see you. And let you know I’m not staying at the inn anymore.”

“Oh, please,” Regina huffed.

Grumpy growled. “You got a problem, sister?”

“Yes. I’m being forced to watch you two make disgusting goo-goo eyes at each other. Is this some kind of torture? Did Rumple put you up to this?”

“I’ll… I’ll just go,” Nova said, looking suddenly pale.

“No. You don’t have to go just because she said so. You’re not Queen anymore, sister.”

“Not, but isn’t there something about cruel and unusual punishment?”

“Dreamy…” Nova mumbled, so quiet he almost didn’t hear, and she began to shake. Leroy was by her in an instant, leading her to a chair far away from Regina’s cell.

“You’re all right… you’re all right, she can’t hurt you.”

“You almost died today,” she gasped. “I almost died today.”

 _Oh._ That sometimes happened; the realization of facing death crashing down all at once hours after it happened. Grumpy himself ended up puking his guts out at three in the morning, a full day after seeing Stealthy die. “You’re all right. I’m all right. Everyone’s fine.”

“Ruby said Sydney Glass has forgotten who he is.”

“Er, yeah. But that’s better isn’t it? Who he is kills people.” Not that his cursed self was above kidnapping.

“And he’s free.”

“Uh, yeah.” Grumpy was more than a little pissed at Snow for that. She really was too quick to forgive and forget. If she’d gone though with Regina’s execution, for example, none of this would have happened.

_And Nova would still be with Blue._

Or would Blue have prevented the execution? Or Rumplestiltskin? There really were too many assholes involved in this mess; Leroy couldn’t keep them all straight. “If he bothers you,” he told Nova, “You call me. Or Emma. Or Red and Granny. We won’t let him hurt you.”

She smiled, her eyes wet. “Thank you.”

“Aw, don’t thank me-”

She kissed him. Just on the cheek, but he saw stars, just like the last time. “Thank you,” she said again. “Um, I know… I know I said that I did not want to see you, but… Ruby and Granny are opening the diner tomorrow. They said I should go there for breakfast. Would you… like to join me?”

“Yeah,” he said reverently. “Yeah, I would.”

XxXxXxX

“Blood wards? I don’t have to sacrifice a chicken, do I?” Emma asked.

Gold stared, unimpressed. “No spell that is dark enough to require a blood sacrifice would be satisfied with a chicken. A flock maybe. But no, they are called blood wards because they are keyed to you and those that share your blood. We can use the simplest form because everyone who lives here shares blood with you, and you’re not trying to exclude anyone who also does.”

Emma still wasn’t sure about this magic thing, but it was for Henry. Regina had been bad enough; she didn’t want to think about what this Pan person might do to him. It didn’t mean she was happy about it, however. “And that’s why you can’t do it? You’re Mr. All-Powerful Dark One, after all.”

“I can do it, but it would be better if you did. And yes, that is why.”

She huffed. “Fine.”

Henry, at least, was over the moon that he would get to see her cast ‘real’ magic. He was sitting at the breakfast counter next to David, practically bouncing in his glee. Gold had banished him there after he’d proved too much of a distraction, but it hadn’t seemed to dampen his spirits.

“What happens if I do this wrong? I won’t blow the loft up, will I?”

“Not unless you have a deep-seated desire to, no. If your concentration fails, the barrier will simply collapse, and we’ll have to start over.”

“Magic has do-overs?”

“As much as anything does.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed impatiently, and Emma narrowed her eyes. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t know any of this stuff. It was Regina’s, and Blue’s, and his; he was going to have put up with her questions if he wanted her casting magic - seriously, magic, actual magic! But he did, at least, elaborate, “Spells themselves are not limited, but circumstances can make them so. If, for example, a spell must be cast at the height of a planetary alignment that happens once a millennium, one has a single chance get it right. Unless you’re me… or Reul Ghorm,” he muttered. “But most spells are not so restricted, see?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, got it.” Then Emma remembered that in the Book, Regina had failed the first time she tried to cast the Dark Curse ( _seriously, what kind of name is that?_ ), and nothing had happened. If getting the Curse to End All Curses wrong didn’t cause a natural disaster, Emma supposed screwing up some ‘blood wards’ wouldn’t either. “OK, what do I do?”

“You’re going to mark the threshold and all entrances and exits, including windows, with a sigil of your own blood, and then perform the casting itself.”

Emma wrinkled her nose. “I don’t suppose the blood part is optional?”

“Not without compromising the strength of the wards. But fear not, very little blood is required for each sigil. At least be grateful you have fewer windows than I do.”

Emma pictured Gold’s enormous Victorian rambler and had to agree. “You, ah, OK?”

Gold raised an eyebrow. “If getting shot was a mere annoyance, do you think a series of pinpricks would do me in?” Yeah, not going there. Emma hadn’t got a good look at the bullet holes Gold had been walking around with yesterday, but David had said Glass had hit him in the gut. If Glass hadn’t brought the magic back when he did, Gold, and possibly Leroy, would have died. _And now he’s acting like it was nothing. How the hell is this my life?_

“All right, let’s get this over with.”

“By all means, Sheriff Swan.”

XxXxXxX

Peanut gallery aside (although Charming had elected to keep his mouth mostly shut, and had kept Henry somewhat under control as well), Emma was not a disagreeable student. Her lack of belief was a problem, but she made up for that in desire to protect Henry and sheer, raw power. Rumplestiltskin tested the wards, and found them unusually strong. _Reul Ghorm was right; her capacity for light magic is unmatched._

And light or no, she had that bite and fire he preferred in his students. Idly, he wondered what it would take to turn her dark, but it was really more of an intellectual exercise. He didn’t need the competition; Reul Ghorm did. And she would be more use against Pan if she were light. And neither Bae nor Belle would forgive him. That’s what it all came down to, now: to keep them safe… and to simply keep them.

“So… I did it? It’s done?”

“You tell me. Can’t you feel them?”

“How do I do that?”

“How can you tell when people are lying?”

“I just do.”

He sighed. “You know, if you actually worked on honing that skill, you could improve it. Your mother did say that it’s not faultless.”

“Why are you helping me?” she demanded suddenly.

“Because Henry must be protected. If Pan gets his heart, he’ll be a threat to Bae.”

“And to you,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

“Let me guess - you have a history?”

“You mean other than the fact that he kept my son prisoner on his island of horrors? Yes, we do.”

“What is it?”

“Not telling.”

“You owe me.”

“Oh?” he asked mockingly.

“This was your curse as much as Regina’s. You may have had a better reason than she did, but it doesn’t change the fact that you screwed everyone over to get to your kid; including me and my kid.”

“Your ‘kid’ would not even exist if not for the curse, and I am helping you protect him. Neither Regina nor Reul Ghorm are doing that, are they? My history with Pan has nothing to do with his desire for Henry’s heart; it’s none of your concern.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Of course not. You’d be a fool to. You are many things, Miss Swan, but you are not a fool.”

“I’m still pissed; helping Henry now doesn’t absolve you.”

“Well, of course not; what is your point?” he asked impatiently. _Honestly, what is she on about?_

“You don’t care,” she said, like it was a revelation. “You don’t care if any of us hate you.”

 _Besides Bae and Belle?_ “No, I really don’t. I’m the Dark One, dearie; it’s part of the job description.”

She put her hands on her hips. “And what if I decide I’m just going to blame you for everything?”

He laughed. “You would not be the first. Or the last. There are not many services I provide for free, Miss Swan, but that is one of them.” And one he’d been providing since before he was the Dark One. That was the point of having a village coward, after all; he’d been the scapegoat for everything from poor crops to the ogres advancing. At least now he’d actually done much of what he was being blamed for, and, far more importantly, he could protect himself and his family if anyone attempted to translate that anger into action. _Not like before._

Emma looked irritated and disappointed, like she’d been trying to pick a fight and was put out he wasn’t playing along. Rumplestiltskin really did not have time for this nonsense. “The wards are in place. Is there anything else you require, Sheriff?”

“Yeah. You got any info on the Apprentice? August really didn’t remember much, beyond his connection to the Book and what he looks like.”

“I told you Miss Swan, I am-”

“Uninterested, yeah. But the way I see it, you owe all these people that you used to get here, and you’re a guy that always pays his debts. If you know anything, you owe us that, at least.”

Rumplestiltskin sighed, but Bae and Belle would not like it if he turned her into a slug - even if she ’got better’ in an hour or so. “I told you, I wasn’t even aware that the Sorcerer and his Apprentice could travel to this world. If I had known that, I’d have found a way to make a deal with them. If nothing else, they’d have been happy to see the back of me.”

“Well, you did turn the Apprentice into a rodent.”

“Oh, long before that; the Sorcerer and the Apprentice have been foes of the Dark One for as long as there has been a Dark One.”

“Do you have anything that could help us? Any way to contact them at all?”

He laughed. “The Sorcerer is not the Dark One, Miss Swann; he cannot be summoned. If you find him, it is only because he lets you. I myself have never met him - only the Apprentice, and only briefly, after decades of careful research. All of which was specific to the magical realms. I haven’t the slightest idea how to go about finding either of them in this world.”

She sighed loudly, then looked at him. “Wait, you can be summoned?”

“Certainly, although I am free to ignore it.” _Unless they have the dagger, of course._ He’d still give it to Bae if he asked, but he was truly relieved that his boy hadn’t wanted it. He’d have feared for them both if he’d kept it. 

“How? Do I say your name three times, or something?”

He chuckled, “Once is sufficient, if you are desperate enough. You needn’t even pronounce it correctly. Regina butchered it horribly the first time she called me, which was particularly amusing because she was reading it, and it’s spelled just as it sounds. Then again, it could have been Cora’s handwriting,” he added, thoughtfully. “Of course, you’re not exactly the desperate sort, and magic is different here. You’d probably have better luck with my cell.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she grumbled.

“Now, was there anything else? I really must begin the preparations for the replacement potion. I also need to speak to the Town Council about funding a renovation of the library.” Emma raised an eyebrow. “Belle would like to add a children’s reading room.” 

“Yes, there is something else!” Henry said, running over to them.

Rumplestiltskin raised a curious eyebrow. “Yes?”

“Can you help me find my dad?”

Rumplestiltskin blinked, and looked at Miss Swan. She shifted uncomfortably, and he wondered if she was now reconsidering how she had just spoken to him. It was no matter to him; she’d said nothing that was untrue or unwarranted, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a bit of fun at her expense. He smiled. “And why do you think I could help you with that? As I understand it, you mother is the expert at finding people.”

“She is, and she couldn’t find him; that’s why I think you can help. What if he’s a storybook character who ended up in this world somehow? You know all the storybook characters.”

Oh, there was guilt written all over her face; she’d obviously lied to Henry about who his father was. On the other hand, the lad might actually be on to something, considering what Mr. Booth had said about the man. Why had he pretended to be Baelfire? And, now that Rumplestiltskin considered it, it couldn’t be coincidence that Henry was the Truest Believer. _Hm…_ “You flatter me,” he told Henry. “It is true that I know many people in many worlds, but I’m afraid that I do not know everyone in every world. I do not know who your father is, but considering what we now know about the Sorcerer and the Apprentice, it is possible that he could be from another realm. If he is, they may have an inkling who.”

The boy looked conflicted. “So, you can’t help at all? You can see the future!”

“I can see bits and pieces of the future, yes, but by no means everything. If I could, I’d have known about the tree Reul Ghorm concealed from me, for example.”

“Oh. Right.”

“But there is one thing I can do.”

“Yeah?” Henry asked hopefully.

“I know a spell that will tell me if a child is of a certain bloodline. If you discover a name that you believe belongs to your father, I can tell you if you are correct. I’m afraid that’s the best I can do.”

“Gold,” Emma said warningly.

“Emma, please, you promised!”

 _Oh, dear, this could get messy._ Rumplestiltskin had obviously wandered into a family drama, and that was the last thing he needed at the moment. It was, however, interesting to see the Savior behaving less than honorably. But he didn’t wish Henry any grief, and a distracted Savior did not bode well. “Henry,” he said softly.

“Yeah?”

“What do you know about fate?”

“It’s… stuff that’s supposed to happen. Like, Emma was fated to save me.”

“Exactly right. You’re a child of fate. So is your mother. And, if your theory is correct, your father likely is as well.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. And if that is indeed so, then I believe that he will someday reveal himself to you. When the time is right.”

“You think so?”

“I do. Consider how your Book appeared exactly when you needed it.”

“That was fate?”

“It was. You may look for your father if you wish, but if I’m right, you won’t find him. He’ll find you.”

The look Emma gave him was equal parts suspicion and gratitude. Henry’s, in the other hand, was pure, unbridled hope. It wasn’t every day that the Dark One coaxed that expression from someone, especially without the intention of shattering it sometime in the near future. Despite himself, Rumplestiltskin smiled. “Now, was there anything else?”

Henry shook his head. “Nope! Thank you, Mr. Gold!”

“You’re very welcome. Sherriff?”

She shook her head. “No. Thanks.” 

He bowed slightly. “Then I shall take me leave. Good day to you, Henry.”

“Good day!”

He nodded to Charming on his way out and headed to the shop. He was fairly certain he had unicorn tears there somewhere; the bottle in his basement laboratory held only half of what he needed. He would also retrieve Bae’s favorite records; he had a lovely vision of the three of them listening to music while preparing dinner together that evening. One part of that, at least, would be easy to arrange.

XxXxXxX

Between ‘online’ shopping and the thrift shop, Belle could confidently say she preferred the thrift shop. They’d be going to Modern Fashions next, but Ruby had rightly pointed out that Nova needed to buy an entire wardrobe, dishes, kitchen supplies, and linens with a very limited budget, and the thrift shop would be the best place to start (fortunately, the apartment above the library was furnished, but it was lacking in much else). 

And why not? This world’s obsession with having everything new seemed silly and wasteful to Belle; if it was serviceable why not reuse it? She also needed some practical clothes to wear as they cleaned up the library; the short dresses Rumple had given her (and suggested she purchase more of) were lovely, but not at all suited for the task.

“What about this?” Ruby asked Nova, holding up a blue dress in a floral pattern.

“Um, it’s pretty, but pink is really more my color.”

“So you really do like pink? It’s not just because that was your fairy color?”

“Yes. Is that OK? Should I try something else?”

“If you like it, go for it; pink looks great on you. Red’s only my color because of my cloak, but it’s still my favorite. What’s yours, Belle?”

“I like yellow. And blue.”

Ruby nodded, and pulled out another dress, “What about this one?” Another floral pattern, bold, in pink, white, and purple. 

Nova smiled. “I like it.”

“I bet Leroy will too,” Ruby said with a grin. Now Nova was pink.

XxXxXxX

“Is that it? Are we done?” August asked, as the last person waiting for a missing person sketch walked away. 

“I think so,” Archie said.

“Great, my wrist feels like it’s going to fall off,” he said, rubbing it. He was still wearing a glove over his left hand. Bae couldn’t blame him. He sometimes creaked when he moved, and people tended to stare; it would be worse if they could see it. _Like Papa and his leg, before._

Bae wondered at the fact that Papa still had his limp, now that magic had returned. When he’d appeared to kill Hordor and his men, his limp was gone and Bae had not seen it again until they came to this world. He still looked human too. _Does that mean his curse is somehow less powerful here?_ And he and Belle had kissed, but his powers remained. _How?_ Bae knew he should ask about it, but he was afraid.

“Well, you’ve been a great help. You too, Bae,” Archie said.

“You’re welcome,” Bae said, shyly.

“No problem. What now?” August asked.

“I’m not sure; let me go ask Mary Margaret.” He jogged over to her.

Bae looked at the clock tower; it was 4:12. “Papa and Belle will be back for me at five.”

“OK.” August didn’t ask him if he was all right. Bae appreciated it.

According to Mary Margaret, there really wasn’t much else left for them to do other than fold up the tables and chairs and take them back inside the Town Hall. “We’re hoping everyone will be getting back to their routines soon; most of the businesses opened today. Thank you both so much for your help. Can I send anyone else your way if they need a sketch?”

“I don’t think my father would mind of someone came by the workshop,” August said, “You’ve got my number.”

“Yes, I do; thank you,” Mary Margaret said, nodding. Bae said nothing. No one would want to come near him if he were at home or the shop; there were already several people who’d moved around in line so they wouldn’t have to work with him. When Belle opened the library, Bae was going to tell his father that he wanted to stay with her during the day. He didn’t know how Papa would take it.

Bae helped August put the table and chairs away, then found a sunny spot off to the side to sit down on the grass. August sprawled next to him and said, “I really hope the weather straightens itself out soon. I don’t want to see winter in July unless I’m in the southern hemisphere. Actually,” he corrected, “I don’t want to see winter at all. I wonder if Regina can make it summer all the time?”

“If she could, she’d make it winter just to spite everyone.”

“No, fall again, I think; she is way too attached to that apple tree, and it’s dying now.”

“Winter shouldn’t kill the tree, just the apples.”

“I know that, but it’s still dying. It must need magic. We should keep an eye on it; if it starts getting better, that means Regina’s getting her powers back.”

Bae sighed. “My father did say she would eventually.”

“I don’t suppose he has some kind of magic-suppressing manacles lying around somewhere? I feel that that is the kind of thing he would have.”

“He’d have used them already if he did.” _Unless he’s afraid someone would use them on him._

“Right,” August sighed.

Bae changed the subject. “You don’t like winter?”

“Nope; always hated it. You?”

“I used to.” It came from growing up in a drafty hovel that they didn’t have the time, money, or manpower to maintain or heat reliably. And Papa really couldn’t walk well through snow and ice. _Now, though…_ “I would like to see snow. I haven’t in a very long time.”

“No snow in Neverland?”

“No.” _So much for changing the topic._

“In most of the movies, it’s shown as tropical.”

“It is.”

August looked at him briefly. “You don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t.”

“Then let’s not. Um…”

“You’ve traveled a lot, right? Tell me about that.”

“Uh, OK. Where do you want to hear about? I’ve been to both Americas and Asia.”

“Tell me about where it snows in July.”

“OK, Argentina. I didn’t go there in July, though; it was winter. So…”

One thing you could say about August, he knew how to tell a story. He seemed to stop himself a lot, though, and after Bae caught him glancing at his arm while he did it, and he wondered if he was stopping himself from ‘embellishing’. Bae hoped he wouldn’t. Not because he particularly cared of August’s stories were completely true (who’s were?), but because he didn’t want him turning back into wood in his account. Suddenly, August waved to someone. “Looks like they bought out the store.”

Belle, Nova, and Ruby were laden with shopping bags. They hurried over to them (well, Belle did, and Nova followed, Ruby following her), and Belle called out, “Hello! Did you finish with your drawings?”

“Yeah,” Bae answered, as he and August got to their feet. 

“August, I wanted to ask you; would you be willing to ask you father if he could help us plan a children’s room in the library?”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind taking a look, but how much do you need to do? He’s more of a handyman than a general contractor. I can do drywall and refinishing, but if you need electrical work, neither of us can do that. I would set myself on fire, and probably the building too,” he joked.

“Leroy does electrical,” Ruby said, “I’m sure he’ll help if you need it.” Nova smiled bashfully.

“Oh, I don’t think it will be too difficult,” Belle said. “We just need to move a few bookcases.”

August nodded. “OK. I can call him right now if you want.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“No, it’s fine.” August took out his phone, and it looked like the ones Bae had seen on the Internet, with large, color screens. Belle marveled.

“Is that a tiny computer?”

“Ah, technically yes, although most people just call it a phone.”

“It doesn’t look like Rumple’s phone. Or Emma’s.”

“The technology in Storybrooke is kind of behind the times. Part of the curse, I guess. I’m kind of surprised Emma doesn’t have a smartphone, though.” 

“Never needed one,” she said, joining their little group with Henry. “I should probably get one now. There aren’t exactly a lot of public computers around here. I’ve been using the one at the Sheriff’s Station, but it’s pretty old.”

“Is that a problem?” Belle asked.

“Uh, yeah. Computers got out of date pretty quickly. I don’t suppose you’ll be putting a couple of those in the library? This town could really use them.”

“What a great idea! Could you help with that?” Belle asked August.

“Ah, best not. Computers hate me as a general rule. I think they know I’m not one of them,” he said in a dramatic whisper. “My phone is the only Internet enabled device I’ve ever gotten completely on my side, and for that I’m pretty sure it will be executed for treason on the day of the machine uprising.”

“The what?” Belle asked, alarmed.

“The - oh! Sorry, that was a joke. It’s a sci-fi trope - the machines rebelling against their creators and turning against humanity. It’s not actually going to happen. At least, not for a very, very long time.”

“How do you know?”

“Because they haven’t built a fully-functional AI - ah, artificial intelligence - yet. They’re not even close. It will be decades, if they can even do it at all.”

“One of the many ways in which magic outpaces science,” Papa said. He was carrying a stack of records under his left arm. Simon & Garfunkel was right on top, and Bae looked away.

“Wait, magic can create artificial intelligences?” Emma asked.

“Miss Swan,” Papa said dryly, “You’re talking to one.”

“What?”

“Hi,” August said, with a little wave. “I wasn’t born, Emma, I was made.” Papa started snickering. 

“Oh, right. Why is that funny?” she asked Papa.

“No reason,” he said, smirking.

Belle gave Papa a scolding look, and he sobered. Noticing the mismatched bags they were carrying, he asked, confused, “Did you go grocery shopping?”

Belle looked down at her bags, “Oh, no! We went to the thrift store.”

Papa stared. “The thrift store? Why?”

“Why not?” she asked, confused, “Nova needed clothing too, and things for the apartment.”

“Oh, so these are Nova’s,” he said, relaxing.

“No, they’re mine.” She was getting annoyed, catching on to what he was getting at.

“Belle-” Papa began, and Bae knew this would go badly.

“Papa,” he said sharply. “Belle can shop anywhere she wants.”

Papa blinked at him. They’d had a variation of this conversation back when Papa had first found him; they’d never really settled it. “Of course,” he said carefully.

“Here,” Belle said, with cheer that was not entirely innocent, “You can help me carry them.”

“Ah,” Papa looked down at the records he was carrying.

“I’ll take those,” Bae offered, liking Belle’s plan. He took the records before Papa could object. 

“You listen to Simon & Garfunkel?” Ruby asked Papa, grinning.

“Bae does,” he said challengingly. She looked at him, and Bae blushed.

“There’s nothing wrong with Simon & Garfunkel,” she said. “I bet Belle will like them too.”

“Who are they?” Belle asked.

“A band,” Emma said. 

“I know them! I like their music,” Nova said, “It’s very pretty.”

“I do think you’ll like them, sweetheart,” Papa said, taking several bags from her without complaint.

“Then I’m sure I will,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

Bae thought so too, but was suspicious of why his father had the records in the first place. They were all of Bae’s favorites, and that had to be on purpose. He didn’t know how to feel about it.

August made the promised call to Marco before they left. He agreed to meet Nova and Belle the next afternoon, and August would be joining them too. Belle said goodbye to everyone, and the three of started home, Belle chatting about the library the whole way. Papa listened, nodding often and offering advice and encouragement. 

Bae hadn’t known that it was possible to miss someone who was walking right next to you. He rather wished he still didn’t.


	9. The Evil Repair Manual of Mystery

Rumplestiltskin was in the back of the shop when his little bell rang. Expecting one of the Charmings, he was surprised to pull back the curtain and see Jefferson standing there. 

“You were supposed to kill her,” the Hatter said darkly, without any preamble.

Rumplestiltskin had enough respect for the man not to play games. “We did not have that agreement. I take it you were to one who freed Belle?”

“Yes. And you were supposed to kill the Queen. That is what you do.”

“No, dearie; I profit. There is more profit in it for me to let her live. At least for now.”

“You still owe me.”

“Ah, but how much?”

“I gave you Belle.”

“But how long did you wait to do that? How long did you know she was there?” The taller man didn’t answer. “I’ve never disliked you, Jefferson, and you know I always pay my debts. Ask for something small, and I might just give it without haggling.”

“Erase Grace’s memories of this place.”

“That’s not small. Or good for her.”

“ _This place_ is not good for her. Two lives in her head - it will drive her mad!”

“No, it won’t. Our cursed selves are only mirrors of our true selves; they will merge easily if you let them. Besides, she’s a child; they’re resilient.”

“She thinks _those people_ are her parents!”

“Well, they did care for her, did they not?” Again, the portal jumper said nothing. “Besides, how do you expect her to adjust to - oh. You don’t mean to stay. Regina still has your hat? I did wonder how she got that apple. Have you got it back yet?”

“No,” he growled.

“I’ll get it for you; consider that your repayment. You can take Grace if you like, but she will still remember this version of herself.”

“She doesn’t want to leave.”

“Well, why would she? The living is better here.”

Jefferson narrowed his eyes. “You don’t want to leave either.”

“I do not,” he said plainly. With his power back (or a close approximation thereof) staying in this world had become an even more attractive option. As far as Rumplestiltskin was concerned, the only things in the way of his happy ending now were Pan (who would be a threat in any world), the curse on the town line (which Rumplestiltskin was confident he could break given enough time), and Bae’s own reluctance (admittedly a significant hurdle - one which would certainly not be helped by returning to the Enchanted Forest).

“You’re mad.”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head, “Oh, we’re all mad here, dearie, but not for wanting to stay. Truly, which life is better? Which one was better for Grace?”

“It’s not _real._ ”

“Correction - it _wasn’t_ real, but everything since the Savior arrived? That was real. This world is real - more than most I’ve seen. It doesn’t matter at all to me if you want leave, but I really don’t know why you would.”

“You’re as slippery as you ever were, vicious as a bandersnatch.” Then he grinned. “You haven’t changed.”

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. “I have not. Do you want the hat, or don’t you?”

Jefferson frowned. “Yes.”

“You’ll have it by this time tomorrow.”

XxXxXxX

The last few days had been… strange. August couldn’t think of a better word than that, which didn’t bode well for his skill as a writer. Then again, it wasn’t as if his books were high art. He’d go so far as to say they were better than Twilight, but not much further. His father hadn’t asked much about them, which was just fine by August. He’d made a fuss about his drawings, but more, August thought, because he was helping with the missing posters than the drawings themselves.

And that was strange. Doing something helpful, something he was good at - he wasn’t used to that. At all. He’d hoped it might turn back some of the wood, but wasn’t terribly surprised when it didn’t. Still, it felt good to actually be doing the right thing for once, and to succeed at it. He could do without the early mornings, though.

The first couple of days had been the hardest, of course; the pain and impaired mobility were bad enough, but Papa’s worrying was worse. In truth, that had been a big part of why August had agreed to stay and draw portraits (and why he’d walked all the way over to Town Hall to deliver his information on the Apprentice in person), Papa’s hovering had been driving him up the wall.

Magic returning had helped on both counts, of course. It was selfish, August supposed, to be happy things had worked out this way, but August was a selfish person and he’d always known that. He’d had a moment of stark terror late that first night when he realized exactly what he’d risked when he told Blue off, but he was also impulsive, and he knew that too.

It was so hard to get on the same page with Jiminy and his father. They were early rising, ethical, hard working people, and he… wasn’t. They didn’t read the same books or watch the same movies, and August wasn’t interested in sharing any details of the life he’d been living for the past twenty-eight years - even if they had asked, which they had not. They only thing the three of them apparently had in common was an appreciation for “Weird Al” Yankovic, and there were only so many times you could listen to the Even Worse album before you had to stop pretending that you had nothing to talk about (three times, as it turned out).

They did build things, though. August had missed that. He joined his father in the workshop every night, as little more than a spectator before the magic had returned and more actively after. Jiminy (and Pongo) tended to go home after joining them for dinner (and helping with the dishes, of course), so it was usually just the two of them. It was nice. Awkward. Limited to that small space and those few hours, but exactly what August had been missing all these years.

He was optimistic about the library project. August enjoyed libraries as a general rule, either as places to read, or to use a public computer (only when necessary - August didn’t like computers any more than they liked him), or just as dark, quiet places where he could nurse a hangover. Not that he intended to share that last part with anyone. _Of course I’m ‘reading’ War and Peace in the darkest, quietest part of the building because I love Tolstoy. Honest._ That book was his go-to cover - people didn’t tend to question it if he fell asleep while he was ‘reading’ it. He still had no idea what it was about.

But when they actually entered the library, he noticed something that threw the entire project off course. “Oh, the books aren’t in order. That’s just petty, Regina,” he muttered.

“What?” Belle asked. 

August blinked at her. “The books aren’t in order. No call numbers, and the signs...” He trailed off. He really didn’t want to be the one to tell the Dark One’s girl that Regina had left her a mess of a library and she hadn’t even noticed.

“What’s wrong with them?”

_Crap._ “Uh, The Thorn Birds, Where the Red Fern Grows, these are novels, not books on naturalism. And wait a minute…” He spotted a repair manual for a 1988 Mercedes Benz on the next shelf and pulled it out. “1988! Regina actually left this here personally! Why would she do that? Did she steal some poor person’s repair manual and hide it here?” 

“She drives that car,” Papa pointed out.

“What?” August almost dropped it. “Is it an evil repair manual? Why would she leave it here?”

“Let me see,” Belle said, putting her hands out. August handed it over like it might bite him, but peered over when she started flipping through it. He half (OK, more than half) expected it to be a disguised spell book or something. _Nope. Just a repair manual. What the hell?_ “I should show this to Rumple,” Belle said.

“Yes,” Nova agreed. “If it’s Regina’s.” August nodded. _Let the Dark One deal with evil repair manuals._

Belle put the manual under one arm, asking, “What’s a call number?” 

“Oh… numbers they use to organize books in libraries. There’s Dewey Decimal and… others I can’t remember the name of. Hold on…” He walked over to the card catalog and opened the drawer for W. The cards had author, title, shelf number, and nothing else. And the one for Where the Red Fern Grows was accurate. “Well, at least she had remarkable commitment to the bit.”

“What do you mean?” Belle asked.

“Well, with this, you could actually find the book you’re looking for, but browsing will be a chore. It’s useable but inconvenient, and I assume you want all the children’s books to be in the children’s room, right?” 

“Yes, of course. Reorganizing with call numbers will help?”

“Yeah.” August looked for good old War and Peace and saw that the library actually had two copies - located on two completely different shelves. _This is a cursed library, designed to make people miserable. Seriously, Regina, get a fucking hobby._ “It will be a big job, though.” 

“That’s all right!” Belle said cheerfully, “I little hard work never hurt anyone.”

Nova and Papa nodded like it was wisdom for the ages. Considering the sum of August’s life, it probably was.

XxXxXxX

“I don’t know where to start,” Bae said, his knees drawn up to his chest.

“That’s understandable,” Archie assured him. “Why don’t you start with how you’re feeling right now?”

“I don’t _know._ ”

“OK. Are you feeling many different things? Can tell me just one?”

“Confused.”

“Can you tell me something that is confusing you?”

“I don’t understand what he’s thinking, what he’s doing; it doesn’t make sense!”

“‘He’, your father?”

“Yes.”

“What is he doing that you don’t understand?”

“Magic, but not all the time.”

“What do you mean?”

“He has magic. He uses it. I know he likes using it, but he’s still spinning wool.”

“Instead of gold?” Bae nodded. “Did you expect him to go back to spinning gold?”

“Of course.”

“Would you like it better of he spun gold?”

“No.”

“Did you tell him that?”

“No.” 

“Do think he might know anyway?”

“I… maybe. But I don’t - it doesn’t make _sense._ He’s… helping. I know he’s angry; he tried to attack Reul Ghorm before, and now he has magic, and I don’t know why he hasn’t hurt anyone yet. Magic makes him do that.”

“Does his curse control his actions, do you think?”

“I don’t know.”

“Has he ever told you that it does?”

“Only if someone else has the dagger.”

“But not otherwise?”

“No.”

“Have you ever spoken about how the curse affects him?”

“I… no. Not really. Back… there, I told him… he was _hurting_ people, and he didn’t seem to understand why it was wrong. It was like he was a different person.”

“I remember you telling Emma that he would never hurt you.”

“Yes. He was never that way with me, but with everyone else. He just didn’t get it. He _killed_ our maid because he though she might tell someone about the dagger, and she couldn’t even _speak._ He killed the Farmer Asal for knocking me down by _accident._ I begged him not to, and he didn’t _listen._ ” Bae was crying, which was annoying. He thought he’d spent all his tears for this in Neverland. Archie handed him a box of tissues, continuing only after Bae had calmed down a bit.

“Are you afraid he will do something like that again?”

“Yes! I thought… I thought he would.”

“When the magic returned?”

“I thought he brought it. I thought he broke his word. _Again._ ”

“I know this is a difficult subject, but… have you discussed this fear with him since your memories returned? I know you discussed it before.”

“Just… Belle made him promise he wouldn’t kill Regina. I said that wasn’t good enough, that he could do other things to her, and he said we already had a deal. He’s not allowed to hurt her any more than he has to to stop her.”

“Have you discussed this in regards to anyone else?”

“No.”

“I know that with circumstances being what they are, that this is a difficult situation, but I think you need to discuss this with him. Would you like to do that in a session? Or I can speak to him for you?”

“No! I… I need to be there.”

“OK. Would you like me to set up a session with him so you can discuss this?”

“No, I… I’ll do it. I’ll do it when Belle is there.”

“Do you like Belle?”

“Yes. She doesn’t want him to hurt anyone either. And she… I overheard them. She said… she said she refused to be second to his power, but… she would be honored… to be second… to me.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“How should I feel? My mother _left_ us. She left me, because she couldn’t stand him. Belle loves him, but she didn’t know me, and still…”

“You’re not used to people putting you first.”

“That’s just _it._ He did, he always did, until the magic. It _changed_ him. I thought… before… when he found me, it was like before, but not- he wasn’t exactly like he was, but he wasn’t _hurting_ people, he wasn’t turning people into snails… he tried to destroy the dagger, and he agreed to use the potion to build the barriers instead of bringing magic back, and I thought it could be like it was before. But not with magic. It can’t be. Magic ruins everything! It ruined _him._ ”

“Since magic has returned, has he done anything that made you afraid or uncomfortable?”

“When he lunged at Reul Ghorm, but that was before.”

Archie nodded. “Any other times?”

After a long pause, Bae muttered, “No.”

“You know that there are people you can go to if he does. Me, Emma, Mary Margaret.”

“Yes.” After a moment, he blurted out, “He almost died. Sydney Glass shot him, and Leroy, and he almost died. And I’m still so _angry._ ”

“At Sydney Glass?”

“At _him._ I swore that I would forgive him if he rescued me, and he did, and the magic wasn’t his fault, and he almost died, but I’m still so _angry._ What is _wrong_ with me?”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Bae. A lot of terrible things have happened to you, and many of them were your father’s fault. Anyone would be angry in that situation.”

“I just want it to _stop._ ”

“That’s understandable. I think most of us feel that way-”

“That was his fault too! This curse. Him and Regina and Reul Ghorm. Magic ruins _everything._ ”

“Well… not everything. You’re friends with August, right?”

“I guess.” 

“August was created with magic.”

“I… that’s right. Papa said he was an artificial intelligence. Like JARVIS.” 

Archie laughed, “I hadn’t quite thought of it like that, but yes. And with magic, I was also able to become a better person.”

“How?”

“My parents were… not good people. I did bad things when I was with them, and I stayed with them for many years. I tried to leave many times, but I was never strong enough until the Blue Fairy turned me into a cricket and asked me to look after Geppetto.”

“August’s father?”

“Yes. And August too, after he was made.”

“How old are you?” Bae asked before he thought, “Sorry, that was rude.”

Archie laughed anyway. “That’s all right. I was in my thirties when I was turned into a cricket. Geppetto was ten.”

“That’s a long time.”

“Yes.”

“I… need a minute.”

“Of course,” Archie said, “Take your time.”

XxXxXxX

“Hello, Mr. Dove.”

“Mr. Gold.”

Jefferson had already been by the shop that morning to pick up his hat (finding it had been simplicity itself; Regina really was terribly lacking in imagination), and now Rumplestiltskin was taking advantage of the repair manual the puppet had found in the library. Geppetto had been right that it belonged to Regina, but it had no magical properties and had neither been tampered with nor written in. Rumplestiltskin saw little harm in retuning to her, and investigating the mystery of it gave him an excuse to get close enough to her to cast a little spell on her without her (or anyone else) noticing.

“Aren’t there usually two guards in here?” Rumplestiltskin asked Dove. 

“They’re working in the mines.”

“Ah.” Another useful piece of information. It was in the nature of dwarves to mine, after all, but Rumplestiltskin was not eager to see Reul Ghorm supplied with fairy dust; he’d be keeping an eye on that.

“What are you doing here?” Regina drawled, trying to sound bored. She’d have fooled most people, but Rumplestiltskin knew her too well for that.

“Just returning something of yours,” he smirked, showing her the manual. “You know, it was rather irresponsible of you to lose your repair manual. And what were you doing in the library? Stealing the books?”

Her eyes tightened, and he suspected that he may have just solved the mystery - she’d traded the manual for a different book. _But which one? A spell book, perhaps?_ He’d tell Belle to keep an eye out for any books from the Enchanted Forest that might have made their way into the library collection. 

He stuck the manual though the bars, but she refused to take it. “What did you do, curse it?” she sneered.

“Would I give you magic? Any magic? I like seeing you in this cell, Regina.”

“I liked seeing you in yours.” 

He chuckled. “Oh, I suppose you did. Of course, I was exactly where I needed to be. I gather that this, on the other hand, is somewhat of an inconvenience for you.” He dropped the manual suddenly, and it made a loud ‘bang’ as it hit the floor. She jumped, ever so slightly, and he grinned wider.

“Only an inconvenience,” she said. “I will get my magic back, as you already know.”

“Ah, but what will you do with it? You’ve made too many enemies, Regina. Sure you don’t want to stay put? It’s safer for you in here.”

“How’s your little maid?” she asked nastily.

He growled. “Well. Which is fortunate for your continued health.” It was not a lie. Belle had been remarkably resilient (as she had always been) and any nightmares or hesitation about discussing her time in Regina’s dungeon were both reasonable and expected after what she had been through. Bae had suggested that she start speaking to the cricket, and her zeal for the library was promising. She’d stayed up late the night before researching call number systems then slept soundly for the first time since the curse was broken.

Bae was another matter, but also not unexpected. He had asked to accompany Belle again today, and Rumplestiltskin did not have the heart to deny him. They’d spoken briefly about his school assignments, but Rumplestiltskin had not had the heart to push him there either. _Tomorrow. Or perhaps the next day. Or next week…_

He growled again when Regina asked, “And dear Baelfire? I heard he ran from you. Can’t blame him really; he knows what you are now.”

He struck back. “So does Henry. Has he been by to see you, or won’t Emma allow it? Or perhaps he just doesn’t want to.” Oh, that struck. He may have hurt her more with that than any blow he’d ever dealt her. _Good._

“I _will_ get him back.”

“Kidnapping?” he taunted, “I’ll enjoy stopping you.”

“Gold,” Emma barked, “What are you doing here?”

“Returning Regina’s repair manual.” 

“What?”

“Mr. Booth found it in the library yesterday. I’ve already searched it for any enchantments, spells, notes, hidden compartments, et cetera…”

“And… nothing?”

“Nothing. I strongly suspect Regina simply took a book from the library and left the manual in its place. I’ll have Belle keep an eye out for any other books that may have come from the Enchanted Forest.”

“That’s right; I hadn’t thought of that. If she finds anything about the Sorcerer or the Apprentice…”

“She will be delighted to share that information, but the chances of that are remote at best. There are very few texts on the subject; believe me, I’ve hunted for them.”

She sighed. “I know, but we’ve got nothing else. You’re sure you don’t have anything that can help us?”

“Quite. Even in our world, the Sorcerer is… elusive.”

“What do you want with the Sorcerer?” Regina asked.

Emma frowned. “None of your business; you’ve done enough.”

“If it concerns Henry, it’s my business.”

“Bullshit. You don’t give a damn about Henry. If you did, you wouldn’t have tried to convince him he was crazy. You wouldn’t have killed Graham or tried to kill me. You wouldn’t have had Glass steal that potion. Everything you’ve done has only put him in more danger, and now we’re stuck here trying to clean up your mess.”

“He-”

“Shut. Up. Can you shut her up?” Emma asked Rumplestiltskin.

“Oh, yes,” he said with a grin. He flicked his fingers, and suddenly Regina could not make a sound. Emma snickered for a minute then told him to reverse it. “You’re certain?” he sighed. A green light to curse Regina from the Savior herself was not something he would give up lightly. _Make her hurt. You know she deserves it._

“Yes. We’re doing this the normal way, and I’m sure this violates a civil liberty or two.”

“If you insist; don’t say I did not warn you.” He gestured.

“How dare you!” Regina shouted.

“You’re the one who brought magic here, dearie; don’t be surprised when it’s used against you.”

“Speaking of,” Emma said, “I had a few questions, since you’re here.”

“About?”

“You mentioned another dark magic user before, but Mary Margaret and David didn’t recognize the name: Ingrid?”

“Oh, certainly. But let’s retire to your office.”

She looked at Regina. “Of course.”

“Enjoy the reading material, Regina,” he taunted.

“Enjoy kowtowing to the ‘heroes’, Rumple.”

Rumplestiltskin just shook his head as he walked away. So many years, and she still didn’t know him at all. If she’d noticed that he’d spelled her so that she could not harm Belle or Bae within the borders of Storybrooke (just as she could not harm Snow or Charming within the Enchanted Forest) he would eat that bloody repair manual.

XxXxXxX

“The Snow Queen? Really? How many queens are there in the Enchanted Forest anyway?”

“At the moment, none; I’ve seen each of them here in Storybrooke,” he said with a smirk. _God, he’s a bastard. But at least he’s helping._

“Funny. So what does the Snow Queen want?”

“Something that is back in the Enchanted Forest.”

“You’re sure?”

“Oh, yes. I placed it in my vault, which was specifically warded against the curse. She, however, does not know that, but she does know that I was the last person to have it. If she starts trouble, she will start with me.”

“Well, that’s a load off. What is this thing she wants?”

“A magical item that has an unfortunate history with her family. One thing about Ingrid, she is intently focused in things having to do with her family. As they actually hail from a land outside the Enchanted Forest, I would not expect to see any of them here in Storybrooke, and indeed, I have not. I am actually somewhat surprised that she is here, but it’s quite possible that she clashed with Regina at some point. You may contact me if she becomes a problem, but I do not expect she will unless she is deliberately provoked. Stay focused on Pan, Miss Swan, he is, by far, the greater threat.”

“Got it.” _Finally, some decent news._

XxXxXxX

Nova, as it turned out, was not terribly adept with computers. Or details in general. Belle’s research the night before had convinced her that the Library of Congress call number system would be the best choice for their library, but while Nova was eager to help, she had even more trouble with the Library of Congress website than Belle did. And, after accidentally scattering an entire drawer of cards from the catalog, Nova had a terrible time trying to get them back in order. Belle then had the idea to send her into the stacks looking for children’s books (and, after speaking with Rumple about his visit to Regina, any books that might be from the Enchanted Forest). She was more successful with that, but Belle was starting to understand what August had meant when he said this would be a ‘big job’. 

She would not be deterred. _It’s not half as bad as the city library in Avonlea._ That library had been ruled by a secretive, disorganized, disagreeable curator who did not much appreciate women taking an interest in books. With no help from him (although she’d had plenty from her mother), Belle had memorized the layout through sheer determination, and the discovery of it had been an adventure. That was how she would think of this: an adventure. _And when we are done, it will be much more welcoming than that library ever was._

Nova actually managed to find quite a few children’s books scattered throughout the stacks and a couple books from the Enchanted Forest as well (although Belle doubted that anyone on the Council was currently interested in grain harvesting techniques or the migration habits of bridge trolls). Nova was particularly pleased to have found several volumes by her favorite author, Dr. Seuss. Belle thought they were delightful, with fanciful illustrations, and they were peppered with nonsense words that Nova explained were helpful in the teaching of ‘phonics’. The idea that a book might be designed to both entertain children and teach them to read was fascinating to Belle. _What a wonderful world this is!_

And it was. Cluttered, as she had told Rumple, and full of distractions, but that was exactly what she needed after over thirty years of isolation, boredom, and unexplained fear. Whatever else could be said for this world, it certainly was not boring!

And such books! From romances to histories to Bae’s mathematics text, even the repair manual, which everyone else seemed to think was such an ordinary object; it was all fascinating to Belle. _How complex must cars be that each requires such a large book to explain how to repair it? And here they are treated as if they are nothing!_

August had said that this world was experiencing an ‘Information Age’, and Belle could think of no time or place that would suit her better. She knew that she would have chosen to stay with Rumplestiltskin in an empty desert or a barren rock, but to be with him (and Baelfire) in a world like this seemed like paradise to Belle.

It wasn’t perfect; she knew that. The threats of Pan and Regina loomed, and even Rumple didn’t know how well this new world would take to magic in the long term. Rumple and Bae had a difficult road ahead of them to mend their relationship, and as happy as Belle was to be in this world, there were many people in Storybrooke that wanted nothing more than to be returned home. 

Belle knew the part Rumple had played in bringing them here, and while she could not approve, she could not condemn him either. He’d done what he’d done in order to find Baelfire, and, whatever his reasons, he was now helping protect Henry and everyone else from Pan and Regina. Even with his magic returned, he was a different man - a better man - than he had been, and even if nothing else in this world were good and right, that was all Belle needed to give her hope.

Fortunately, there were other things: several thousand other things, according to the card catalog, in just this library alone. And she would be able to share them with the town just as soon as she could just get the Library of Congress website to cooperate.

XxXxXxX

Rumple had been right; Regina had taken a book from the library and left her car’s repair manual in its place. But it had not been a spell book, or a book from the Enchanted Forest at all. It had been a storybook.

She remembered it well. 

From the very beginning, Henry had loved books. He had loved it when Regina had read to him. He went through books the way the grouchy dwarf went through whiskey, and when her collection had fallen short, Regina had taken to raiding the library. They were her books, after all, and who would notice?

Beatrix Potter and Dr. Seuss, Bill Peet and Virginia Lee Burton, they were her allies, her only allies, in raising Henry. Then she’d found _that_ book. Grimm’s fairy tales. Some of them had been funny (Rumple’s, for example), and she’d made Henry laugh with her impressions of foolish peasants and imps that tore themselves in half (and if Henry ever wondered why her impression of Rumplestiltskin sounded vaguely Scottish, he never said so). 

But there was that one story. Little Snow-White. She’d avoided it until she couldn’t wonder any more, and then she’d read it on her own. _This is what people in this world think of me? That I was jealous of her looks? That I’m a_ cannibal? Enraged, she’d burned the book and told Henry she’d lost it. He’d cried, but at four years old it had been easy enough to distract him with other books and a new toy, and he soon forgot all about it.

But she hadn’t. That blank spot on the shelf had jumped out at her every time she went back to the library. She’d stopped going there eventually, which was easy enough to do once Henry was in school and he could use their library. ( _They_ didn’t have a copy of Grimm’s - Regina had checked.) Eventually, Regina returned all the books she had borrowed. All except that one. The blank space had eaten at her. She started imagining that if anyone entered the library, they might notice that one book was missing. They might assume someone had taken it, and they might trace it back to her, the only person in town who had the keys. They might guess which book had been taken, and then… 

She’d been paranoid, she could admit now. No one went in there. No one could without her permission (although she’d never really been entirely comfortable saying so about Gold), and filling in the gap with her own car’s repair manual had been a far bigger give-away than the blank space would have been, but she hadn’t thought it would ever matter. Who, if they entered the library at all, would look closely enough to notice the title of that single book? It had really only been for her own piece of mind. 

Except it hadn’t.

The curse had been broken. Rumplestiltskin had played her, and the Blue Fairy as well (she overheard her guards talking to each other about it, and didn’t that little detail just explain everything?). She’d lost her control over the town. She’d lost her power.

She’d lost Henry.

_NO!_

The magic was there, just beyond her fingertips. She could feel it; she just couldn’t touch it. It was maddening.

She was done waiting.

Dark magic was forged in pain, in blood, and in fire. Fire was in short supply in her cell, but blood and pain could be found anywhere. Late that night (fortuitously, her guards were Bashful, who didn’t like to look directly at her, and Sleepy - enough said), she turned towards the wall with the manual on her lap. She ran her finger down the edge of the pages until she had given herself a nice, deep paper cut. Blood welled from her fingertip in fat, red droplets.

She focused on the pain and on the blood. _This is power. Embrace it. Use it. You need this. You need it to get Henry back. Focus on your hate. Burn with it._

There was a swirl of purple smoke, and Regina, repair manual and all, toppled onto the cemetery grass outside her vault.

She smiled.


	10. Parents and Children

“What?” Rumplestiltskin demanded testily. He’d been inclined to ignore the ringing of his phone considering the late (or, rather, early) hour, but there were too many possible things that could have gone wrong (like the Shadow appearing) for him to take the risk. Especially when Emma was the one calling.

“Regina’s escaped her cell.”

Rumplestiltskin sighed and flopped down on his back next to Belle. “Is that all? I told you she would, eventually. Unless she’s burning a path of destruction through downtown, I’m not interested.”

“I’m surprised you’d be interested then.”

“My deal with Bae means I cannot start a fight with her; I am, however, allowed to finish one. Is she attacking anyone?”

“No. We don’t know where she is.”

“Then goodnight, Miss Swan. Call me if she starts causing trouble.”

“Wait! That book you gave her-”

“Was a repair manual. An ordinary repair manual. I did not help her escape, and if the book did, take it up with Mr. Booth.” He hung up.

Belle was frowning at him. “Regina escaped?”

Rumplestiltskin’s expression immediately softened, and he reached out for her. “Even at the height of her power, she was no match for me, my dear; she cannot hurt you.” He tried to pull her close, but she stopped him, holding his gaze.

“What about Henry?”

“I assume he is sleeping, safe behind the blood wards Miss Swan erected.”

“They’ll keep her out?”

He nodded. “They are very strong. You can go back to sleep, sweetheart.”

She cuddled up to him, but he could feel the tense lines of her body.

_You’re lucky, Regina, that Bae is as softhearted as he is. So very, very lucky._

XxXxXxX

“Bae,” Papa said cautiously over breakfast.

“Yeah?” Bae asked, not looking up. He knew that they had to talk, but he kept putting it off. He hoped (and feared) that Papa was taking the initiative now.

“Emma called me last night. Regina has regained her powers, and escaped the jail.”

“You said she would.”

“Yes. What are… your plans for today?”

“I’m going with Belle again. I want to start doing my run again, too,” he said, challengingly.

But Papa just nodded. “I thought you might. I will call Mr. Dove, and tell him to meet you at the library at eleven.”

“That’s… it?”

“I have some assignments for you to do while you’re at the library. We could… review them tonight?”

Bae poked at his eggs. “Fine,” he muttered. Maybe he’ll have worked up enough courage to actually talk to him by then.

XxXxXxX

It was decided that the best way to protect Henry from a now free Regina was for Mary Margaret to go back to teaching. On one hand, Henry hadn’t liked the idea of his mom in jail, and he was happy to have Mary Margret back as his teacher, but on the other, he was afraid his mom was going to do something that would make the whole situation worse. She’d already brought back the magic, after all, and told Mr. Glass to kill Mr. Gold while he did it. Henry had been hoping that after the curse broke, she’d see Rumplestiltskin trying to be a better person and do the same, but so far she’d only made things worse.

Henry had also been hoping that the curse breaking would take everyone (including him) to the Enchanted Forest, but it turned out that they needed the Sorcerer (or the Apprentice) for that. Henry had been thinking a lot about that, but he didn’t have any ideas yet on how to find them. He knew they would, eventually, but Henry was getting just a little bit impatient with this whole happy ending thing.

And then there was Pan. It was weird to think that someone he’d always thought of as a good guy wanted his heart, but then he’d always thought the Blue Fairy was a good guy too. It seemed that not only could villains stop being villains, but also people he’d always thought were heroes might have been villains the whole time. It was confusing. At least he’d gotten to see Emma cast magic, which was the coolest thing ever, but she hadn’t seemed to think so. For now, it seemed like she, and everyone else, was just trying to get back to life as usual, which Henry thought was kind of disappointing, but at least people knew now, which made everything easier. He could talk about magic at recess now, and the other kids did too.

“Queen Snow?”

“Oh, you don’t have to call me that, Molly. When I’m at school, I’m still Miss Blanchard.”

“You’re married.”

“Ms., then. What can I help you with?”

“Now that magic is here, will the ogres come?”

“Oh, no, Molly. The ogres are all back in the Enchanted Forest; they can’t get here.”

“And what about when we go back?”

“Then we’ll fight them, like we always have.”

“I heard the only person who has ever ended an Ogre War is the Dark One, is that true?”

“Technically, yes, but that does not mean that he is the only one who can.” _Of course not! We’ll fight the ogres, and we’ll win too!_

_But it wouldn’t hurt to get some spells from Rumplestiltskin before we go._

Henry was so caught up thinking about ogres that he wasn’t the first to notice the purple smoke. “Henry, get behind me!” Mary Margaret shouted, but Mom was already standing right in front of him. The other kids ran.

“Hello, Henry,” Mom said. She didn’t sound like Mom. She sounded like the Evil Queen.

Mary Margaret charged, and Mom threw a fireball at her. She ducked and rolled out of the way. Mom made another gesture, and Mary Margaret froze, like she’d been turned into a statue. “Stop!” Henry shouted, “Leave her alone!”

“As long as she leaves us alone,” Mom said, “Why don’t I take you home early today? We can get ice cream.”

“No!”

She frowned. “I’m not asking, Henry, I’m telling.”

“Let Mary Margret go!”

“I will if you come with me.”

“You promise?”

“Don’t, Henry!” It was Bae. He was running towards them, Mr. Dove running behind. Mom smiled cruelly, and threw a fireball right at Bae. He ducked like Mary Margaret had. “Don’t go with her!”

“This is none of your business,” she said, and a tree came to life, grabbing for Bae and Mr. Dove.

“Stop!” Henry begged, “I’ll go with you, just let them go; let them all go!”

“Don’t!” Bae shouted again, dodging the tree. A limb swiped at him, but bounced off, as there was a force field there.

“What?” Bae asked, and the tree then turned back to normal, letting go of Mr. Dove’s arm.

“That was unwise, dearie,” Mr. Gold said, having appeared just behind Mom. Then he flicked his hand, and Mom was thrown and pinned to the ground by an invisible force. It looked like he was hurting her.

“Mom!”

“Stop!” Bae shouted, “We have a deal!”

Mr. Gold growled, and Mom gasped in pain, but he asked, “Have I stopped you, dearie?”

“Yes,” she said, panting. “For now.”

Scowling, Mr. Gold stepped back. He flicked his hand again, and both Mom and Mary Margaret were able to move. Mary Margaret ran to Henry and pulled him back. “Stand behind me, Henry.”

“No, wait!” Mom said.

“Just get out of here!” Bae warned her, “Before he changes his mind!”

“I suggest you do, Regina,” Mr. Gold said. “Or else I might conclude that you lied to me, and that will not end well for you.”

“You can’t keep him from me forever!”

Mr. Gold laughed, and it was not a nice sound. “That’s were you’re wrong, dearie. I have forever; you don’t.”

“Mom, please,” Henry said, “I don’t want you to hurt anyone, and I don’t want him to hurt you either! Just stop all of this! Leave everyone alone!”

She looked angry, but she looked sad too. “Henry…”

“Just leave, Regina,” Mary Margret said, “Before anyone else gets hurt. Especially Henry.”

“I can protect him!”

“Not from you,” Bae said, “Not from _magic_.”

“Listen to him, Regina,” Mary Margret said. “Turning his schoolyard into a battleground is not what’s best for Henry. Neither is making him watch Rumplestiltskin hurt you.”

“I just want to talk to him!”

“Liar,” Mr. Gold taunted. Bae and Mary Margret glared at him, but he was right.

“You didn’t want to talk to me,” Henry said, “You wanted to take me away. You tried to hurt people, and you would have if Mr. Gold hadn’t shown up. You don’t care about what I want; you just want to keep me, like a trophy. You made me think I was _crazy_ ; that’s not what good parents do.” _And I want you to be good; why can’t you see that?_

She definitely looked more sad than angry now. “Henry… I’m sorry.” And then she vanished in another cloud of purple smoke.

Bae started backing away from his Dad. “I kept my word, Bae,” Mr. Gold said, “I did.”

“I know. I know. I’m… going to finish my run now…” He ran.

Mr. Gold looked heartbroken, but he just turned towards Mr. Dove, jerking his head towards Bae. Mr. Dove had already started running after him. 

Mary Margaret stepped forward, “Thank-” Mr. Gold disappeared, “You.”

She turned to Henry. “Are you all right?” Henry nodded. _At least she stopped._

_For now._

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin landed in his shop and immediately took his cane to the display cases. _He hates you! He’s afraid of you! Nothing will ever get better between you! There’s nothing you can do, nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing…_

After coming to his senses enough to realize what a mess he’d made, Rumplestiltskin started repairing what he’d broken. It wasn’t that he cared for these things, particularly, but they were his, and Belle would find the mess disturbing. And these things, at least, he could control. _But I can’t fix the one thing that matters._

XxXxXxX

Regina’s escape from jail aside, Belle thought it had been a good morning. Rumple had reached out to Bae during breakfast, and that was very encouraging. Later, Bae had explained who Mr. Dove was, and Belle was delighted to meet him when he came to escort Bae on his run. Belle could tell he had a good heart, even though his words were few. She was glad that Rumple had had someone to interact with all this time, even if Mr. Dove was just an employee. After all, Belle herself had only been Rumple’s maid at first.

Nova also got a second job. David, it transpired, had been working for the animal shelter before the curse broke (and what a wonderful idea that was!), but decided to officially become the Deputy now that Regina was free. He was also helping in the mines, a subject Rumple had mentioned yesterday, and Nova had confirmed. (Considering what Reul Ghorm had done, it hadn’t yet been decided what would be done with any diamonds found, but they had decided that it was a good idea to start looking for them. If nothing else, they should be protected from Regina.) 

Nova really wasn’t qualified to round up stray animals, but David had been confident he could still handle that as Deputy. Nova took over the rest of his duties, going to the shelter in the morning and evening to feed and “socialize” the animals and to clean the cages. The schedule left her free to help at the library in the middle of the day, and she came in today bouncing with energy after having seen the animals for the first time. Belle was happy for her, and agreed that it was an ideal arrangement. 

The day was disrupted when Baelfire returned from his run, looking pale and shaken. After some prodding, he’d explained what had happened with Regina, and while Belle was terribly proud of Rumple for showing the restraint he had, she could tell Bae was very disturbed by what he had seen. She’d called Rumple, who was also upset, but refused to come down to the library to talk about it. When she pressed him, he just said he would see her that evening and hung up. Frustrated, Belle told Bae and Nova she was stepping out for a bit, intending to drag him down to the library herself.

She’d barely made it a dozen steps out of the door before she was stopped by a man wearing a red, knit cap.

XxXxXxX

“Did you hear that?” Bae asked Nova.

“What?”

“It sounded like a shout.”

“I didn’t hear anything.” 

Something wasn’t right; he knew it. He twitched and fretted for a few minutes before calling Belle. She didn’t pick up. _Am I being paranoid?_ He considered calling his father, but was afraid to set him off, especially over what was probably nothing. _Twenty minutes. I’ll give her twenty minutes._

She wasn’t back after twenty minutes. He called her again, and she still didn’t pick up. He stood up and told Nova that he was going to check on Belle. “Do you know where she went?” the fairy asked.

“No.”

“Do you think… your father’s shop?”

He grimaced. “Probably. It’s not far; I’ll go ask him. Can you say here in case she comes back?”

“Of course.”

Steeling himself, he jogged out the door and headed for the pawnshop, keeping an eye out for Belle on the way. He didn’t see her anywhere. He reached the shop sooner than he would have liked. He stood outside the door, staring for what was apparently too long, because Papa opened the door first. “Bae? What are you doing here?”

“Belle…” he muttered, “Is she here?”

“She isn’t with you?”

“No. She said she had to step out for a minute. That was nearly thirty minutes ago. I tried calling her and she didn’t pick up. I thought…”

“Yes?”

“I thought I heard something.”

“Something?”

“A… shout.” Papa frowned, and Bae knew he was once again looking at the Dark One. “I’m sorry, I should have come sooner; I wasn’t sure…”

“Not your fault,” Papa said automatically (that, at least, hadn’t changed), but Bae could feel how angry he was. Papa pulled out his phone and dialed.

“Sheriff, Belle has gone missing… half an hour… with Regina loose, I’m not about to take the chance, especially after our confrontation … Bae did, she did not answer... Bae said she left the library for a moment but never came back… we’ll meet you there.”

“Will she help?” Bae asked.

“Yes; we’re to meet her at the library.” Papa quickly closed the door behind him and headed down the street, looking around as Bae had done minutes ago. He didn’t see anything either. When they reached the library, he didn’t go in, instead pacing in front of the door with his eyes closed and his left hand extended in front of him. 

“What are you doing?” Emma asked him climbing out of her yellow bug several minutes later.

“Feeling for magic.”

“Anything?”

“Nothing, but after thirty minutes, I wouldn’t necessarily expect there to be.”

“This is my fault,” Bae said.

“No, Bae,” Papa said.

“Yes, it is! I should have gone looking sooner!”

“Kid, this is isn’t anyone’s fault but the person who took her, if someone did. For all we know, she could have gone out for coffee and gotten turned around.”

“Then why isn’t she answering her phone?”

“Maybe she dropped it somewhere? We don’t know, but we’ll find her; don’t worry. Tell me everything you remember.” Bae did. 

“A shout? Are you sure?”

“No, I wasn’t. That’s why I waited,” he said desperately.

“It’s OK, kid.” She turned to Papa. “Can you use that spell you used in the Book, the one you used with Mary Margret’s ring?” 

Papa shook his head in frustration. “No. It requires that I have something of meaning that belongs to the person, and I don’t. Thrift store jeans won’t exactly cut it,” he said wryly.

“Damn. What about on Regina?”

“Like many magic users, she has warded herself against it.”

“Damn.”

Nova must have finally noticed them milling around the front of the library, because she opened the door. “Did something happen?”

“Belle’s missing,” Bae explained.

“Oh, no! What do we do?”

“Stay here,” Emma said, “In case she comes back. You too, kid.”

“What? No!”

“Yes,” Papa said, “If this was Regina-”

“Then I’m safer with you, aren’t I? I can help!”

“Kid-”

“How long have you been tracking people in Neverland?” He asked Emma, then appealed to his father. “If you can’t use magic, we have to do this another way!”

Emma looked at Papa. “Your call.”

He paused, then turned to Nova, “Do you have a phone in case she comes back?”

Nova shook her head. “Take mine,” Bae said, “This dials my father, see?”

“I see,” she said, nervous.

Emma looked at Papa. “No offense, but I’ll probably have better luck interviewing witnesses without you lurking behind me.”

“Unless someone requires some… persuasion.”

“No,” both Bae and Emma said at the same time. Emma continued, “Trust me; finding people is what I do. You being there will not help. I’m starting with the diner; it has the best view of the front of the library. If you did hear a shout, she had to still be close when she was taken; someone should have seen something. In the meantime… do your Neverland thing, kid.” Bae nodded, though he got the feeling that Emma didn’t think his ‘Neverland thing’ would really be of much help, except as a way to distract his father. Well, he could do that too.

Bae grabbed Papa’s hand. “This way; if she was looking for you, she would have gone this way.” After a moment’s hesitation, his father followed him. Emma jogged towards the diner.

Bae scanned the ground, but it was difficult to see anything on concrete and asphalt. In the jungle, he would have looked for disturbed ground and damaged plants; there wasn’t much to go on here. He saw Papa reach out his left hand again, and he knew he was sensing for magic. They didn’t speak. Neither of them found anything before Emma came back with Ruby.

“Did you see something, Miss Lucas?” Papa demanded.

“No, but I have a really good sense of smell now. The, ah, wolf thing. If you can give me something to go off of, I might be able to track her that way.”

Papa flicked his hand and a gold, silk nightshirt appeared in a puff of smoke. He handed it to her. “Will this do?”

“Let’s see.” It did. It led them all the way to Game of Thorns.

“Moe,” Emma said flatly, obviously remembering how he’d cornered Belle in front of the Town Hall. “Stay here,” she told Papa.

He ignored her, yanking the door open and charging in.

“Dammit!” Emma ran after him, Bae and Ruby right behind her.

“Papa, stop!”

“You - OUT!” Mr. French shouted. “This is a private establishment; you’re not welcome!”

“Where’s Belle?” Papa growled.

“Safe,” was all he said.

“What have you done with her?” Papa demanded, stalking towards him.

“Gold,” Emma said warningly.

“There was only one way to get her away from you-”

“What have you done?” his father repeated, jabbing Moe in the chest.

“I have to make her forget about you,” Mr. French said, “No matter the cost. Even if it means she forgets me too.” _The town line. He’s going to_ kill _him._

“Papa,” Bae said, “ _Don’t._ ”

“He’s sending her across the town line,” Papa said, and Mr. French actually smirked a little bit. 

“Papa, _please_.”

“Gold,” Emma said, her voice cold, “Let me arrest him.”

Papa’s eyes were wide, and he was panting with rage, but he stepped back just enough to let her. Papa seethed while she read Mr. French his rights, handcuffed him, and led him out of the shop, asking, “Where are you taking her across? You do know we have patrols on the town line, right?”

Mr. French said nothing. Suddenly, Papa charged at him, pinning him by the neck with his cane, shouting “WHERE? WHERE ARE YOU SENDING HER ACROSS? TELL ME WHERE!”

“Papa, don’t!”

“Gold, stop! He can’t talk with a crushed larynx!” That actually seemed to get through, as Papa stepped back just enough for Emma to grab him and pull him off Mr. French. Bae grabbed his other arm, not that it would do much good if he charged again.

Mr. French reached up to massage his throat, and Emma snatched his hand away. “What’s this? Looks like that mine dust David was complaining about last night. Is that were she is? The mines?”

“No,” Mr. French said, coughing. 

Emma looked at Papa. “He’s lying; she’s there.” Then she turned to Ruby, “Watch him; I’m calling David. He knows the mines better than I do.”

“I have a better idea,” Papa said, and a dream catcher appeared in his hand with a puff of smoke. “Hold his head.”

“A dream catcher?” Emma said, “Seriously?”

“With this, we can view his memories directly. Hold. His. Head.”

Emma gave him a frustrated look, but she did it, glaring at him the entire time. Papa held the dream catcher over Mr. French’s head, and a series of images immediately appeared inside it. Bae saw a tunnel and a cart and… _Mr. Smee?_

_Oh, no._

“I know where that is,” Emma said. “Get in the van.” She pushed Mr. French in, and Ruby ran around to the driver’s side. Papa got in the back with Emma, directing Bae to get in the passenger seat. Emma gave Ruby directions (and permission to ignore stop signs), and Bae just hung on. _Please, please, don’t let us be too late._

They weren’t.

“Wow,” Ruby said, as Papa pulled the cart towards them by magic.

Bae and Emma rushed forward before the cart even came to a stop, and the cuffs fell open just as Bae touched them. He looked at Papa, who stepped forward, looking as frightened as he did angry. “Belle, are you all right?”

“I… I think so,” she said, as Emma and Bae helped her out of the cart.

“You remember who I am?”

She smiled. “I do, Rumplestiltskin. And Baelfire.”

She put an arm around each of them, and in his relief Bae let her, even if he didn’t want to stand quite that close to his father just then. Belle was too good a person to have that taken away from her, and if Mr. French had succeeded, Bae would have been left all alone with his father. The thought was terrifying.

“Belle…” Mr. French said, trying to take a step forward. Ruby put out an arm to keep him back.

“Father,” she said coldly, her arms still around them. “How could you?”

“I was trying to protect you, Belle!”

“You don’t get to decide what I do or how I feel; I do. If you’d cared about me, you’d have listened to me.”

“He’s a monster, Belle!”

“Uh, he never tried to erase his kid’s memories, as far as I know,” Emma said, walking around them to Mr. French. “I’m not exactly sure what the charges will be for that, but I’m thinking we’ll start with kidnapping and assault. What’s the name of the guy in the red hat? The one who helped you?”

“Mr. Smee,” Bae said immediately. “He’s a member of the pirate crew that works for Pan.”

Papa stared at him. “Really?” Emma asked. “Then I guess I’ve got two sets of questions for Mr. Smee. Have you seen anyone else in town from that crew, kid?”

“No. I didn’t even know he was here. You may have noticed I don’t really get out much,” he said dryly.

“You’re fifteen; you’re not expected to know every scumbag in town.”

Bae laughed humorlessly. “Actually, I’m closer to two hundred.”

“What?”

“I was in Neverland a long time, Emma.”

“That’s… two hundred? Really?”

“Yes. I don’t know the real number, though; time doesn’t really work there.”

“You’re two hundred and eighty seven, as the Enchanted Forest counts time,” Papa said quietly. Bae looked at him. “I counted.”

_He counted._

_That doesn’t mean anything._

_It doesn’t mean he’s changed. It doesn’t mean he can fight his curse._

“You need to let Emma do her job,” Bae told him.

“What do you mean?” he asked carefully.

“Emma is arresting Mr. French, and she is going to find Mr. Smee; you’re not. You’re not going after them. You don’t hurt them. No revenge. Promise me.”

“Yes,” Belle agreed, “Promise me too. You’re better than that, Rumple; I know you are.”

Papa grit his teeth and looked at Emma. “You’ll prosecute them both?”

“For kidnapping someone and trying to send them across the town line? Oh, yeah.”

Papa let out a harsh breath. “Then I promise.”

Belle hugged him, almost knocking him over. He hugged her back, but Bae could tell he was not happy. 

_Just as long as he keeps his word._

XxXxXxX

Smee was both useful and easy to find. Gold had actually spotted the man’s hat while they were leaving the mines, and he was able to use his locater spell on it ( _I followed a flying hat to a suspect today; how is this my life?_ ). They’d found him at the Rabbit Hole (shocker), and he was only too happy to roll on Moe, Pan, and the entire crew of the Jolly Roger.

_Captain Hook - of course._

The weird thing was that Hook wasn’t in Storybrooke, even though most of the rest of the crew was. Also weird was the fact that Pan had apparently let the crew go for no discernable reason about a year before the curse was cast. Smee backed up everything that Baelfire had said about the Truest Believer and Pan’s powers failing (not that Emma had doubted the kid, but multiple witnesses were always good), and Emma wondered if he just didn’t have the kick needed to send pirate ships realm-hopping any more.

“It’s possible,” Gold said, looking troubled.

“He also said Hook wants revenge on you; that’s why he went off alone.”

“Yes. I took his hand.” _There’s more he’s not saying. But when isn’t there, with him?_

“I thought the crocodile did that.”

“Ah, yes, that is what he called me.”

“Wait, you’re Rumplestiltskin, the Beast, and the crocodile from Peter Pan? Are you anyone else? Tom Thumb? The Muffin Man?”

He snorted. “Mr. Drew at the bakery is the Muffin Man, and Tom Thumb lived and died well over a hundred years ago.”

“Let me guess, he made a deal with you?”

“Actually, no. His stature was the result of a fairy wish made by his mother. Children that result from fairy wishes always posses… unique qualities.”

“Like August.”

“Precisely. All magic-”

“Comes with a price; yes, I know. I guess it’s better than ‘with great power comes great responsibility’; I would seriously not buy that coming from you.”

He looked offended. “I would never say anything so… banal. Reul Ghorm on the other hand…”

Now Emma snorted. “That does sound like something she would say. Which would make her the biggest hypocrite ever; not that she needs the help. Did you know she takes the wings of fairies that break her rules? Leroy’s afraid she’ll do it to Nova.”

“I did know that. And yes, I imagine she will as soon as she gets her hands on enough fairy dust to power her wand.”

“That’s horrible!” Belle said. 

“Can you do anything about it?” Emma asked Gold.

“Short of… incapacitating Reul Ghorm before she can take them? Unfortunately, no. That power is unique to her. However, fallen fairies may still use magic if they possess enough will and self-belief. Maleficent is a fallen fairy, after all.”

“Do you think Nova…?” Belle asked.

He looked at her, taking her hand. “As I understand it, she was a rather weak fairy to begin with, but then Reul Ghorm was not terribly supportive of her.” Belle nodded, frowning. “She may actually be more powerful outside her sphere of influence; Maleficent certainly was.”

“Hm. Any more thoughts on Pan or Hook?” Emma asked.

“I will need to think on it.”

“And the potion; you have the stuff you need?”

“Yes, fortunately.”

“Well, that’s one thing going right. Still on that fifteen week timeline?”

“Unless the moon has altered its orbit,” he said, getting annoyed. Yes, full moons needed, she got it. But could he blame her for being a little impatient when her kid’s heart was on the line?

She looked at Bae, who was staring at the floor, arms crossed defensively. “If you haven’t got anything else, I think we’re done here. I’ve got all your statements, and I’ll call you when Mary Margret is ready to charge Moe and Smee. There’s no school tomorrow, so she might be ready then; I’m just not sure.” 

“Very well,” Gold said. “Are you ready?” he asked Bae and Belle. Bae nodded, still staring at the floor.

Belle smiled and said, “Yes. And thank you so much, Emma.” She’d thanked Ruby earlier, when she’d left to return to the diner.

“Just doing my job.”

“Nevertheless, you saved me.”

“I wouldn’t have known you were missing if Bae hadn’t been so on the ball. You did good, kid.” 

“Yes,” Gold said, but neither he nor Bae were preening like a proud father and son. Bae looked at her, as lost as any kid she’d seen, and Gold looked at him like he didn’t know what to do or say fix what was wrong between them. 

Well, there was a lot of wrong; she knew that. But she also knew by now that Gold was trying like hell to make up for it. _But that’s the problem, isn’t it? There is no making up for abandoning your kid. You can’t get those years back; you can just hope they give you a second chance to be there for them now._ Fortunately, Henry had not only given her that chance, he had more faith than anyone that she could actually do it. 

_Maybe I need to cut Mary Margaret some slack._


	11. Cracks in the Dam

They returned to the library. Nova was understandably upset, accidentally knocking over a stack of books (as she tended to do when she got flustered). “Are you all right?” she asked Belle.

“Yes,” Belle said with a smile, but Bae knew it wasn’t so. You couldn’t be ‘all right’ after your father tried to use magic erase your memories. Even Papa never tried to do that.

Quite the opposite; Papa had always been insistent that Bae would get his memories back, even when Bae had said he didn’t want to. _That’s why he helped Emma break the curse. Not for anyone else: for me._ Bae wasn’t sure if that made it better or worse.

Belle just wanted to get right back to work. Bae couldn’t blame her: looking up call numbers and organizing books was a lot better than sitting around thinking. Or it would have been if Papa hadn’t insisted in staying to help. Bae could tell that Belle was happy with that arrangement, but it made him feel suffocated. He knew they had to talk, but Bae needed to figure out what to say first, and he could not do that when Papa was right there. He ended up hiding in a back corner of the library with his schoolwork. Belle began to object, but Papa told her to ‘let him be’. Bae didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one.

XxXxXxX

With nowhere else to go after the scene at Henry’s school, Regina had gone home. She wasn’t giving up, but strong-arming Henry away from the heroes wasn’t going to work. If she did that, she would be the bad guy, and while she could take that from everyone else, she couldn’t take it from Henry.

She hadn’t meant to make Henry think he was crazy. She’d been trying to keep him safe, but it seemed that she’d not only failed that, she’d hurt him in her attempts. _Like mother did._

_She wanted me to be great, to be a queen._ Well, Regina was, but it hadn’t been worth the price - not until Henry.

Before Henry, if she’s been able to chose a peasant life with Daniel over her throne and her power, Regina would have chosen Daniel every time. But her power had led to Henry, and she couldn’t regret that. When she got it back, using it to get Henry back had been her only (all right, not her only, but her _first_ ) thought, but Regina knew the laws of magic well enough by now. _Magic can’t make him love me._

Regina had never wanted to put a child through what her mother had put her through; that was why she had taken the potion that left her sterile. She’d thought that in this new world, without her mother’s influence, she could be the kind of mother she wanted to be, but it seemed that she’d followed in her mother’s footsteps anyway.

_I’m sorry, Henry._

_It’s not fair!_

She’d done her best; what else could she have done? _This was Rumple’s plan all along - to give him to me so I would lose him!_

That was Rumple’s favorite game, after all, to trick people so they ended up with the exact opposite of what they thought they’d bargained for. Well, Regina wasn’t falling for it. She _would_ get her son back, but not the way Rumple or her mother taught her. No, Regina had to find another way. _But how?_

XxXxXxX

“You need to talk to him,” Belle told Rumple after dinner.

“Belle…” he began in that tone that said ‘you just don’t understand’. She was done accepting that. Her trip to the mines had been far too reminiscent of her time in the hospital, and the fact that her father was the one responsible it made it so much worse. She was going to help Rumple and Bae sort things out if it was the last thing she did.

“Rumple, what happened today was because my father wouldn’t listen to me-”

“He doesn’t want to talk!” Rumple snapped, then immediately apologized, “I’m sorry. I’m not good company right now.” He turned to leave - _oh, no you don’t._

She grabbed on to him arm, “Don’t! Don’t run away when I’m talking to you.”

He stopped walking but did not look at her. “I won’t push him, Belle.” 

“This can’t go on as it has been; you’re both miserable! You’re the parent, Rumple; you need to be the brave one.” He shut his eyes as if he were in pain - _well, he is, isn’t he?_

She took his hand. “I’ll go with you, but you need to do this.” He didn’t move. “Rumple…”

“He hates me,” he said quietly.

“No, no. Rumple…”

He wasn’t listening. “Of course he does,” he said, pulling away from her, “Why wouldn’t he?”

“Rumple, listen!” she said sharply, reaching for him again. “He doesn’t hate you. He’s hurt and frightened. He needs you, but he doesn’t know how to say it. If he won’t come to you, you need to go to him.”

She knew that his heart was breaking; that’s why they needed to do this. Delaying it any more would only make it harder on both of them. “Rumple, please. For his sake; you can’t let this go on.” He finally looked at her. She took his hand again. “Come on.”

With great reluctance, he did.

Baelfire was in the den, drawing and listening to one of his records. Rumple watched him though soulful eyes, but said nothing, so Belle had to broach the subject. “Bae?”

“Yeah?” he asked, not looking up from his drawing.

“You and your father need to talk. Do you want me to leave you two alone?”

“No!” he said, head snapping up, “Don’t!”

“All right,” she said, turning off the player and taking a seat. Slowly, Rumple did the same.

She put her hand on Rumple’s arm, urging him to speak. Eventually, he did. “Bae… I know you’re unhappy. I’m trying…. I’m trying to do better by you, but… I don’t know _how._ I need you to tell me what’s wrong so I can _fix_ it.”

“You can’t fix it.”

Rumple looked like Bae had stabbed him in the gut. _This is what he was afraid of._ “Baelfire-” she began.

“I want to forgive you,” he said suddenly. “But I can’t. I don’t know how.”

“But… you want to?” Rumple asked timidly.

“Yes. I’m just… I’m just so _tired._ Of everything. Of _magic._ I want everything to be like it was before, but it can’t be. It’s too late. It was too late as soon as you became the Dark One.” Tears were creeping into his voice, and he buried a hand in his hair. 

“Bae, _please…_ ”

“Please what? I can’t… Papa, I’m _scared._ ”

“What are you afraid of?” Rumple asked desperately, “The Shadow-”

“No! I mean, yes, but not… I’m afraid of _you_ , of your power.”

“Bae, I would never-”

“Hurt me? Break a deal? You did. You did both. I didn’t think you would, but you did.”

“I made a wrong choice, Bae, I’m _sorry._ ” Now Rumple was crying.

“I know you are. And I want to forgive you, but how can I ever trust you again?”

“I’m trying, Bae.”

“I _know._ That’s why this is so hard. You’re doing what you promised, but I’m still so _angry_ with you.”

Rumple had nothing to say to that. He looked at her, his eyes begging. “Bae,” she said, “Is there anything you want us to do that we’re not doing?” 

“Not you. _Him._ ” She’d said ‘we’ intentionally, but clearly Baelfire would not accept that.

“W-what do you want me to do, Bae?” Rumple asked. He was begging, she realized; begging for a task to complete, a solution, a path that might possibly lead to Baelfire’s forgiveness.

“You… you can’t hurt people. Anyone. You can’t be like you were before. You hurt people. You _killed_ them. You can’t do that again, _ever._ Promise me.”

“Regina-”

“If she tries to hurt people, yeah, stop her like you did. But no revenge. Not on her, not on anyone.”

“And Pan?”

“Stop him. Do what you have to do, but not innocent people, not like before. I thought… I thought it had killed you. Your curse. My papa would never do those things. He wouldn’t let me go. It was a monster wearing your face, and now…” He couldn’t finish, but he didn’t have to. They were all crying now.

“Bae, I am _so sorry._ I know I can never, can never make up for what I’ve done-”

“ _Promise me._ ”

“I promise.”

“OK.” And then Bae grabbed his sketchbook and his pencils and ran upstairs. Rumple watched him, tears streaming down his face. Belle wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“You can do this, Rumple; I know you can. He’ll forgive you when he sees how you’ve changed.”

“And if I haven’t?”

“You _have._ You let Regina, Smee, and my father go today when you could have killed them all. You kept your word to Baelfire. You have a good heart; you just have to listen it.” He put his head in his hands, defeat in every line of his body. “You can’t give up, Rumple; not after you’ve come this far. You’ve moved worlds for him; you can do this.”

He finally looked at her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. “You’d do the right thing, because you love him. But I’m here, and you don’t have to do it alone.”

“I can’t do it alone.”

“Yes, you can.” She smiled and kissed his temple. “But you don’t have to.”

XxXxXxX

Something gave. It wasn’t all at once, like a balloon bursting ( _or the curse breaking_ ), but it was like a valve somewhere had been released, and Bae at least felt like he could breathe again. He and Papa were able to exchange enough civil words to got his schoolwork straightened out (and for Papa to explain that Mary Margaret had agreed to convert the hospital basement into a proper jail, where both Smee and Mr. French would serve their sentences), but it went without saying that Bae would be spending his days with Belle at the library rather than with Papa at the shop. 

Just watching how excited Belle got about the books was enough to improve Bae’s mood, and having Nova around helped as well. He honestly didn’t think it had been Papa’s intention to keep him so isolated before the curse broke, but it had been the result. The only people he’d seen with any regularity besides Papa had been Mr. Dove, Archie, Emma, and Mary Margaret. Spending time with both Belle and Nova every day was a great relief.

And on Tuesday, August showed up too.

“Hello?” he asked, knocking on the doorjamb. He was still wearing gloves.

“Oh, August! How are you?” Belle asked.

“I’m all right. How’s the library coming?”

She laughed. “You were right; it is a big job, but we can do it! It might be a few weeks before we’re ready to get back to designing the children’s room, though.”

“You, ah, need any help?”

“We’d love some, but I’m afraid there’s no room in the budget to hire anyone else.”

“That’s OK; you don’t have to pay me.”

“You… Thank you! But I’m sure you have other things to do…”

“Um, not really. I’m not really in the headspace to write, and I figured that if Regina wants the library shut down, getting it back up and running would be a good thing to help with.”

“That’s wonderful, August, thank you!”

“No problem,” he said with an almost shy smile.

“Nova and I were actually discussing the best way to label the books with their call numbers. Do you have any ideas?”

“Well, there are several things you could try…”

August, it turned out, not only knew about call numbers (and which popular books had been written since the library was created), he knew how to preserve and rebind books was well. Belle and Nova were delighted, and Bae made the observation that now someone else could help get books down from the top shelf (Belle needed to use a stool to do it - which her new high-heels did not help her balance on - and Nova had toppled books onto herself more than once).

“Oh, is that what they’ve had you doing?” August asked Bae teasingly when he brought it up.

“Well, it beats algebra.”

August laughed, “No argument here.”

XxXxXxX

Archie had been worried about August. He’d been isolating himself because of his condition, which was not healthy, especially for such an outgoing, social person. Archie had been concerned enough to speak to Geppetto about it, and after several days of them urging him to go out during the day, August had finally agreed. He’d come home this evening to tell them he’d agreed to help Belle and Nova with the library, and Archie was encouraged. It was exactly what August needed, and the fact that August himself had thought of it and taken the initiative was a very good sign. Archie had trouble forgiving himself for failing to realize how the Blue Fairy had manipulated his friend into sending his little boy into a strange world alone with no support and with responsibilities that no child should ever be burdened with, but he didn’t think the damage was insurmountable. A little structure and encouragement, and August would be just fine.

Archie was considering this as he and Pongo walked home from dinner. He stopped short when Regina walked into his path.

“Dr. Hopper,” she said carefully.

“Regina. What can I do for you?”

“I need to talk to Henry.”

“And you would like me to mediate?” he asked hopefully. 

“No, I just need you to arrange it so we can speak. He is still having sessions with you, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is, but I’m not sure Emma-”

“Forget Miss Swan,” she snapped, “I am still his mother. I need to speak to him, but I can’t get near him, because she’s guarded him against me! He never has a moment alone! They even had Rumple - Rumple, of all people! - put up blood wards over that loft! They trust the Dark One with my son’s safety, but they won’t even let him speak to his mother?”

“Actually,” Archie explained, “According to Henry, Emma put up the wards around their home to protect him from Pan’s Shadow. I believe that is also why he is always with an adult; according to Baelfire, the Shadow avoids adults. I think if you spoke to Emma-”

“Wait, Miss Swan has magic? And Rumple still has you all believing that nonsense about Pan?”

“Yes, she does. And Rumplestiltskin is not the one who warned us about Pan; Baelfire-”

“Is his son; he’ll say anything Rumple wants him to say.”

“I can tell you that is certainly not true. But if you want to discuss this-”

“I don’t want to discuss this; I need to speak to my son! You’re supposed to be looking out for his interests; keeping him from me is not in his interests.”

The difficult part was that she was right. Even knowing what she’d done, Henry did still want her in his life. Forcibly separating them might not only provoke Regina to do something reckless, it might provoke Henry to do the same, as he had done when Regina had tried to keep him and Emma apart. Archie had also not failed to realize the significance Regina asking for this instead of simply using magic to force him to arrange a meeting. He could offer to meet her half way. “I’ll speak to Emma, and ask for a supervised visit-”

“Supervised!”

“I can’t in good conscience leave him alone with-” 

It was the wrong this to say. Well, no, it was the right thing to say, but Regina did not react well. Archie choked as Regina plunged her hand into his chest, pulling out a red, pulsing, jeweled heart; it hurt more than Archie thought something that looked so clean had any right to. Pongo whined and cowered. 

She waved her hand, and his heart disappeared in a puff of smoke. Another gesture, and Archie blinked.

Regina was standing in front of him. _Where did she come from?_

“Regina, how are you?”

“As well as can be expected, Dr. Hopper. Just going for a walk to clear my head.”

“That’s good. You know, if you want to talk my door is always open.”

She smiled. “I know, Dr. Hopper.”

_Well, that’s encouraging._

XxXxXxX

“How are you today, Henry?” Archie asked.

“OK, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Well, it’s been six days, and Mom hasn’t done anything else, so that’s good.”

“That is good, but I think you want something more.”

Henry looked at the floor. “Yeah.”

“What do you want?”

“I just want everyone to get along. I know she did bad things, but she’s still my Mom, and if Rumplestiltskin can be better, I know she can be too!”

“Do you want me to call her? I know she’d like to talk to you.”

“Do you think that would be a good idea? What if she tries to take me again?”

“I think for your Mom to be better, she has to be able to see you. And you do want to see her, don’t you, Henry?”

“Yeah.”

Archie smiled. “Excuse me a moment; I’ll go call her.”

Henry was nervous. He wanted to see his Mom (especially since she hadn’t done anything to anyone for nearly a week), but the last time they spoke hadn’t gone well, and this time Rumplestiltskin wasn’t here to stop her if she started throwing magic at people (like Archie). It also occurred to him that Emma would be mad if she found out about this, but, if Mom did well, he could use that as proof that she could be better of they gave her a chance, and that was more important.

Archie returned really quickly, with Mom right behind him. She gave him a smile, and it wasn’t as scary as the one she’d given him last time. “Hello, Henry.”

Henry shifted nervously. “Hi, Mom. You got here fast.”

“Well, Dr. Hopper told me that you wanted to see me; I wasn’t going to waste time. Why don’t you give us a few minutes, Doctor?”

“Um…”

“No!” Henry said. “I want him to stay. And he already knows everything.”

“Don’t you trust me, Henry?” she looked hurt, and Henry felt bad.

“I do but… if he’s here, he can tell everyone that you’re doing better and it’s OK for me to talk to you.”

She looked at Archie, frowning a little, but nodded. “That’s a very good point, Henry.”

“Why don’t we all sit down?” Archie asked.

“All right.”

“So, um, did you use magic to get here so fast?”

“Yes.” She leaned forward like she was sharing a secret, “I can show you, if you like.”

“Uh…”

“Oh, I don’t mean taking you anywhere, but I can show you what it looks like. Or how about this?” She put out her hand and conjured another fireball, but this one was small and just floated above her hand. She stared at it, and it began changing colors, from orange to yellow to white to blue and back to orange.

“Cool!”

“Isn’t it? And there’s so much more. I can show you everything.”

“What about Emma?”

Mom frowned. “What about her?”

“She has magic too! David and Mary Margaret were talking about her taking lessons with Nova, but I guess fairy magic is different from human magic. Mr. Gold is really busy right now, but you could teach her!”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Henry. If she knew that you were talking to me, she’d try to stop it.”

“But… Archie is going to tell her, right? That’s the point of him being here. If he says you’re doing better, then she’ll have to say it’s OK.”

“I’m not sure Miss Swan is as reasonable as that.”

“Yes, she is! She’s the hero, and if you stop being a villain and help her, you can be a hero too!”

“You think I’m a villain?” she asked, frowning deeper.

“You were a villain, but villains can stop being villains! Rumplestiltskin did! Isn’t that right, Archie?”

“Rumplestiltskin has been very helpful since the curse was broken,” he agreed.

“Henry, Rumplestiltskin cannot be trusted.”

“Why not? Because he was a villain? So were you! And you can be better, right? I want you to!”

“Henry, what I did, I did because of Rumplestiltskin. He corrupts people. All the things the Book says about me; he is the one who taught me to do those things.”

Henry looked at her in confusion. “But you still did them.”

“Yes, but I… I didn’t really have a choice.”

“Yes, you did. And you have a choice now; you can choose to be better. Make a deal with me!”

She didn’t look convinced. “What kind of deal?”

“Like the one Rumplestiltskin made with Bae. Promise me that you won’t use your magic to hurt people; use it to help people instead. If you do that, Emma and Mary Margaret and David will have to give you a second chance.”

“Henry, I don’t need a second chance with them, I just need one with you.”

“But they’re my family too! I need you to not be fighting!”

“Henry, they will never accept me.”

“They’re heroes; if you become a hero too, they’ll have to.”

“Henry, it’s not that simple. Tell him, Dr. Hopper.”

“Well, um, there is a lot of history between your Mom and Snow White, Henry. She may not be ready to forgive.”

“She was ready before, in the Book…”

Mom frowned again, and it looked like she didn’t believe him, even though she had been there and knew it was true. “That was then, Henry. But how about this: I promise I will use my magic to help people if you promise to give me some time to prove that I can without brining anyone else into this.” She leaned forward and smiled, “It can be our own operation, like the one to you had with Emma.”

Henry grinned. It was perfect! _One operation to end the curse, and another to redeem the Evil Queen._ “We should call it… Operation Scorpion.”

She took his hand. “Perfect.”

XxXxXxX

“You look pretty happy, kid; your session with Archie go well?”

“Yeah, Emma, really well.”

She smiled. “That’s good. David’s taking the evening shift tomorrow; I thought we could rent a movie? Maybe your first PG-13? And on Saturday, David and Mary Margaret have a surprise for you.”

“Wow- yeah! And what’s the surprise?”

“I can’t tell you kid, it’s a surprise!” David and Mary Margaret had convinced Emma to let them take Henry to the stables on Saturday, so he could start learning how to ride horses. Emma had been worried about the safety issue, but it was an essential skill in the Enchanted Forest, and she knew Henry would love it.

Not that she was currently sold on taking Henry to live in the Enchanted Forest. That was a bridge they’d cross when they came to it, but actually knowing how to live there couldn’t hurt.

_Wait, does that mean I’ll have to learn to ride a horse too? Crap._

XxXxXxX

Regina’s meeting with Henry had gone even better than she had anticipated. _It’s about time something worked out for me._ All she need now was a chance to play the hero. Hell, if she’d been able, she’d have even been willing to send Whale back to his land when he’d her to asked earlier that morning. She did helpfully tell him about the heroes’ plans with the Apprentice (the cricket’s heart was proving incredibly useful on that front) and directed him towards them. 

But, apparently, Whale had already been to see Charming. Unimpressed with the heroes’ plan (just as Regina was - the Apprentice was incredibly reclusive, and he’d have shown up already if he had any intention of interfering.), Whale had come to her with his demands. Irritated, she’d dismissed him, but had restrained herself from cursing him ( _Henry wouldn’t like it_ ).

Regina was focusing most of her energy on figuring out Rumple’s plan, as he was clearly the biggest threat to Henry right now. And foiling him would certainly impress Henry, even if she had to admit to herself that going head-on against the Dark One in a magical duel might not end well for her. But there were plenty of other ways to stop whatever he was planning, and she would have to be the one to do it, as it seemed he had the heroes completely snowed (pun intended).

It was now Saturday afternoon, and she was visiting her vault. The imp had warded all his mirrors against common viewing spells, but she thought she had one squirreled away that might have enough kick to get around that. She froze when she saw that Daniel’s body was gone. 

_Who? Rumple? I’ll kill him!_

Then she remembered Whale’s rant. She quickly pushed her father’s coffin aside and hurried down the stairs. As she feared, one of her hearts was missing.

_Damn him!_

XxXxXxX

By the time Emma made it from the hospital to the stables ( _Of course this would happen on the day David and Mary Margaret decided to give Henry a riding lesson!_ ), Regina had apparently found the zombie that used be Daniel. Emma arrived just in time to see her disintegrate him. _Holy fuck!_

David spotted her hand on her gun. “It was necessary, Emma,” he said, “He was out of control. Regina tried to talk him down, but…”

“Got it,” Emma said, leaving her gun where it was. _First curses, then dragons, now zombies? What’s next?_

Thankfully, Henry was OK. “Thanks for saving me, Mom,” Henry said, running up to Regina and hugging her.

Regina hugged back, looking tearful. “Of course, honey.”

“Regina-” Mary Margret began.

“Don’t,” Regina said sharply. “You don’t get to talk about him. I did what I had to do. I don’t want your thanks and I definitely don’t want your apologies.”

“What do you want, then?” David asked.

She stared at him. “What do you think I want? I want my son back, you-”

“Mom,” Henry said warningly.

“Yeah, not happening,” Emma said.

Henry looked at her, pleading, “Emma…” 

She’d been afraid of this. After Gold had run Regina off last week, Henry had started talking double-time about how the pawnbroker was being better for his kid, and if he could do it, maybe someday Regina could too. And, it seemed, she’d just saved him from a zombie made from the body of the guy she’d destroyed the entire Enchanted Forest for. Henry probably thought she was ‘better’ now and they’d be having regular potlucks by the end of the week. Emma knew that was crap, but she couldn’t just trample on his hope like that (especially with Regina stand right next to him ready to start something). _Fuck._

Emma sighed. “Maybe I can start talking to Archie about visitation - _supervised_ visitation.”

Regina snorted, “Don’t do me any favors, Miss Swan.”

Emma huffed. “And that’s the problem, Regina, right there. This isn’t about you; it’s about Henry. I could make this about me and say no way is he ever seeing you again; God knows I don’t like dealing with you. But I have to do what’s best for him, and like it or not - and I don’t - you’re part of his life. You did everything in your power to run me off just so you could have him all to yourself, and that hurt him. If I do the same to you, that makes me no better than you.” Henry smiled, and she knew that she’d got it right.

Regina was less receptive. “You _aren’t_ better than me. Make no mistake, Miss Swan, I need nothing from you. I took care of Henry for eleven years without anyone’s help; I am his mother. You can’t keep me from seeing him if that’s what he wants.” She smiled mockingly, “How does it feel now that the shoe is on the other foot?”

“Seeing as I’m trying to work with you and you’re the one refusing to compromise? Looks like the same foot to me.” Mary Margaret nodded but, thankfully, said nothing.

Regina scowled furiously, but relented. “Fine. Speak to Dr. Hopper. But don’t be surprised if he tells you something you might not like to hear.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Mom,” Henry said, “Are you all right?”

She looked at him, startled. “I’ll be fine, honey.”

“I’ll talk to you later, OK?”

She smiled. “Count on it.” Henry beamed.

_Dammit._

XxXxXxX

_Damn Whale._

Regina was a step closer to having Henry back, but for a few, short minutes, she’d actually thought she might get to have both Henry and Daniel. They’d have loved each other. _It’s not fair!_

She thought about drowning her sorrows in a bottle of wine, but that would not get Henry back; she needed to have a clear head when Emma went to talk to the cricket. Regina thought of her father, and how at one time she could have gone to him for comfort. Now there was no one. No one except Henry, but even if she had him, she couldn’t expect a little boy to understand what Daniel had meant to her.

She looked at the heart in her hands. _Well, it’s not like he can tell anyone…_ She headed to Hopper’s office. He listened to her, never suspecting that his heart was sitting in a box in her nightstand.

XxXxXxX

As Whale walked out of his shop (now with two arms firmly attached) Rumplestiltskin wondered how long it would be before the doctor (or the heroes) thought to involve Jefferson in their plans to lead the people home. Oh, there was no way a significant portion of the Storybrooke population would be able to relocate using the hat (if nothing else, they would need enough corpses or willing volunteers to make the trip back in order to make the necessary multiple trips) but individuals like Whale were more than possible. 

Rumplestiltskin himself saw no reason to bring it up (he liked Jefferson more than Whale, and the Hatter would not be interested in playing ferryman, he was sure), but Emma, Snow, and Charming were all clever enough to think of it eventually. He’d have to keep an eye on that.


	12. Heartsong

“You’re kidding,” Emma told Archie.

“I most certainly am not,” he said, adjusting his glasses.

“You do realize she’s killed people, right? A lot of people.”

“So has Rumplestiltskin, and he has sole custody of his son.”

“Bae’s a teenager; we let him choose. Henry’s eleven. And she cursed him; did you forget that? After she agreed to a truce with me. Then she tried to kidnap him. I can’t trust her alone with him; I can’t.”

“You said you would do what is best for Henry.”

“I am. I will. It’s too soon. How do we know this isn’t all a trick? She knows we’d send Gold after her if she just took him. Why can’t we at least do supervised visits?”

“If you or your parents are there, there would be tension; that is not good for Henry.”

“And you? She trusted you enough to make you his therapist in the first place.”

“Having me there tells both Regina and Henry that she cannot be trusted.”

“She can’t!”

“Mi- Emma, how can we expect to help Henry rebuild his relationship with his mother if he is told at every turn that he cannot trust her?”

_God, he sounds just like Mary Margaret._

Emma sighed. “A couple of visits supervised by you, first. After that… we’ll talk about unsupervised, but only in public places. And no, the playground when nobody else is there is not a public place; I mean like Granny’s. When it’s busy.”

Archie frowned, but agreed. “I’ll talk to Regina.”

XxXxXxX

“Are you all right, my friend?” Geppetto asked.

Jiminy blinked tiredly. “I’m fine.”

“You have been out of sorts for days. I think you have been working too hard.”

Pinocchio snorted into his glass of wine. “Pot, meet Kettle. He is right, though; you have been kind of out of it.”

“I’m fine,” Jiminy repeated.

“Why don’t you go home early tonight? Pinocchio and I can wash the dishes ourselves.” His boy nodded.

Jiminy shook his head. “Really, I’m fine. Tell me more about the library, August.”

Pinocchio looked at him askance. “I’ve already told you everything. Book sorting, conversations about superheroes; there’s really not much to tell.”

“Does Belle talk about Rumplestiltskin much at all?”

“Uh, not really. I think she and Nova have girl chat while Bae is out on his run, but when he’s there, she doesn’t mention him much. I mean, that would be weird, wouldn’t it? Listening to your dad’s girlfriend talk about him with people?”

“So you think she talks about him more when Baelfire isn’t there?”

“… probably?” Geppetto and Pinocchio exchanged looks; Jiminy was not acting like himself. He sounded less liked an advisor and more like a gossip, and if there was anything Jiminy was not, it was a gossip. “Are you sure you’re all right? Did something happen? I know Regina’s been around…”

“No, no,” Jiminy said hurriedly, “Nothing like that. You know; you may be right. I’m probably just tired. It might be time for me to go home.”

“I think so,” Pinocchio agreed.

They both helped Jiminy gather his things and ushered him and Pongo out the door. They offered to walk him home, but he refused. Unsettled, Geppetto went to work on the dishes, Pinocchio helping. In all their years together, Geppetto had never seen Jiminy act quite like this, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Jiminy was his constant; he didn’t know who to turn to when Jiminy was the one who needed help.

“You’ll help me keep an eye on him, won’t you Pinocchio?”

Pinocchio nodded, looking just as concerned as Geppetto felt. “Of course, Papa.”

“You’re a good boy.”

He looked away, shyly. “Thank you, Papa.”

XxXxXxX

Emma was on a tear and she knew it, but Henry was with Regina right now (at that damn playground, modeled after her own evil castle no less) and she had to take her frustration out on someone. As agreed, Archie was with them (and Pongo too), but Emma was starting to doubt his opinion on this issue. It was one thing for him to have said Henry was safe with her before the curse broke (he hadn’t known what she’d really done then, and she hadn’t cursed Henry yet or tried to kidnap him with fucking magic), but now he did, and she had, and it sounded to Emma like Archie was just making more and more excuses for Regina’s behavior. _But why would he do that?_

_Am I just being possessive? Like Regina?_ That was the last thing she wanted to put Henry though, so she agreed to the meeting - but only after setting up Archie’s phone to speed dial her (and extracting a dozen promises that he would do so if Regina misbehaved). Henry had made Emma promise to stay away so that she and Regina “wouldn’t fight”. As much as it burned, she had to agree that they probably would if she went down there, and that wasn’t good for Henry.

She needed to find something to do or she would go insane, but she was in such a mood that she knew she’d just offend anyone she spoke to. Well, almost anyone. And she had been meaning to ask Gold about Whale anyway.

Gold looked up when the bell rang and read her mood immediately. “I take it our dear Queen has done something? Has the Council decided she would be better contained as a snail?” he asked gleefully.

“No,” Emma grumbled, although it was sounding more appealing by the minute. And knowing what Emma did about Gold and snails, those where the kinds of thoughts that made her question if maybe Archie was right, and she was overacting. “I wanted to ask you about Whale. Noticed he has two arms again; I assume that was you?”

“You assume correctly. What do you want to know?”

“Who is he? Do we need to be worried about him raising an army of zombies or something?”

Gold laughed. “Not zombies. Back in his land, dear Victor goes by the name Frankenstein-”

" _Frankenstein?_ Really?”

“Yes, really. However, his motivations are a bit different than those described in Mary Shelly’s tale; he means to reanimate a specific person, one who is back in his land. He had hoped that by restoring Daniel to Regina, she would help him return there. But, well, you saw how that turned out.”

“But Frankenstein isn’t a fairy tale.”

“Neither is 101 Dalmatians.”

“Pongo…”

“Indeed.”

“Does that mean Cruella De Vil is around here somewhere too?”

“Actually, no, which is odd. She was in the Enchanted Forest last knew. I don’t know why she wasn’t taken; Regina may have simply not wanted the competition.”

“Cruella De Vil ? Really?”

“Yes, really.” He was telling the truth. _When will this insanity end?_

“And you’re sure she’s not here somewhere?”

“Quite. She is hard to miss, and her companion, Ursula, is also missing. It is possible they outran the curse, as Ursula was once a mermaid, and can travel between realms.”

“Wait, mermaids can travel between realms? Could they help us return people to the Enchanted Forest?”

He shook his head. “Not without some means to carry passengers, which they do not possess. Ursula and Cruella could have obtained such from Maleficent, but an average mermaid would not have those means. Assuming they were even willing, which they would not be. Mermaids do not cooperate with humans; they are, in fact, much more likely to drown them simply for the joy of it.” 

“Would they deal with you?”

“Only very rarely, and with significant leverage on my part.” He grinned, and she knew not to ask what kind of ‘leverage’ he was referring to. “A mermaid would rather die than be beholden to a land-dweller, especially one like me. In fact, it would not be inaccurate to say that mermaids generally perceive all land-dwellers to be like me.”

“Great. Aren’t there any exceptions? What about Ariel?”

Gold looked thoughtful. “I don’t know a mermaid by that name. There have been exceptions, or course. Ursula, for example, fell out with her father because she did not wish to harm humans - a position she has since revised - but as they can only travel to lands with magic, I saw little reason to…” he trailed off, a slow grin sliding across his sharp features.

“What?”

“You have just given me an excellent idea, Miss Swan. Did you know Neverland is home to several pods of mermaids?”

“I… that’s right. You think you could get them to help with Pan?”

“Perhaps. As helpful as Bae’s information has been, it’s been twenty-eight years since he was in Neverland. Closer to thirty for the Jolly Roger’s crew. But a mermaid could gather current information on the state of Pan’s magic.”

“That would be great, but do you think they would help us?”

“With sufficient leverage. And they do not like Pan; no one was ever meant to live on the island, but the waters were always theirs. They see him as something of a squatter.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure. First, I need to speak to Bae. He was there a very long time; if he knows of any particular individuals who may help us willingly, it would be a great deal easier than trying to force their hands.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Well, we’ll just have to get creative, won’t we?”

XxXxXxX

“Oh, hey!” August said, “Here’s a good one!” He pulled The Restaurant at the End of the Universe off the shelf and showed it to Belle. “It’s the second one, though; I wonder if we have Hitchhiker’s around here somewhere...” Which, of course, was why they were organizing the library to begin with. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe should be in sci-fi next to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, not in the culinary section, wedged between the Fanny Farmer Cookbook and… Howe to Cooke Chimerae. “And here’s another one from the Enchanted Forest. I doubt there’s anything about the Sorcerer in it, though.”

“Let me see.”

“Sure.” He handed her the leather-bound cookbook ( _What do you bet it’s bound in actual chimera skin_ ) and put The Restaurant at the End of the Universe in the sci-fi pile. He checked the catalog for Hitchhiker’s. “In the travel section - of course.”

He glanced up when the front door opened. “Rumple, you’re early!” Belle greeted. 

“Hello, sweetheart.” He walked over to her and gave her a brief kiss. Then he turned to Baelfire. “I was hoping to have a word with you, if that’s all right?”

Bae shifted nervously. “What about?”

“Miss Swan gave me an idea in regards to Pan.”

He relaxed marginally, “Yeah?”

Rumplestiltskin carefully pulled out a chair and sat across from him. “The subject of mermaids came up, and it occurred to me that with magic here, mermaids can now travel to Storybrooke. I was thinking they might have information about the current state of Pan’s magic, or be able to gather it.”

“That is a good idea!” Belle agreed, “But aren’t mermaids difficult to bargain with?”

“They are,” Rumplestiltskin confirmed, “Which is why I was wondering of there were any particular individuals you might know of who would be more amenable to helping us. Or simply more hostile towards Pan.”

“Actually there was one… she arrived after Tinker Bell did, I think. She rescued Curly when he fell into the bay. They don’t… usually do that.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “Do you know her name?”

Bae shook his head. “She couldn’t speak. I think Pan must have cursed her.”

“Hm. What does she look like?”

“Dark red hair. Green tail. I can draw her if that helps.”

“That would help, Bae, thank you.”

“Um,” August said hesitantly, “Could her name be Ariel?”

Rumplestiltskin looked at him. “Miss Swan mentioned that name as well; I gather she’s well known in this world?”

“Disney’s the Little Mermaid. She has red hair, a green tail, loves all things human, and loses her voice. If it’s not her, it seems pretty coincidental that there would be another mermaid that matches the description. And Walt was an Author.”

“Ah, I did wonder.”

“If Pan did curse her, can you reverse it?” Bae asked.

“Perhaps; it depends on which curse he used. However, I’m certain we can find some way for her to communicate.”

“How will you reach her?”

“Mermaids can be summoned by their names; if her name is indeed Ariel, contacting her will not be a problem.”

“And if it’s not?” August asked.

“Then we hope that if there is a different Ariel, she is either as friendly as you say, or not particularly powerful. Mermaids can summon storms, and often do if they become annoyed.”

“Could you stop her?”

“Oh, I’m sure I could prevent her for drowning anyone, provided no one is actually in the bay at the time, but the property damage might be a different story.” He said this with a dark humor August had come to expect; the Dark One loved his kid and Belle, for sure, but the rest of them were disposable at best. _At least he’s honest about it. Fucking Blue._

“Then let’s wait until after the boats have come in for the day,” Belle suggested, and Rumplestiltskin nodded.

“A wise precaution.”

“Do you know if there happens to be a Prince Eric in town? Of a coastal kingdom?” August asked.

“Actually, yes,” Rumplestiltskin asked, “I take it he is part of the tale?”

“Her True Love, according to the movie, although if she’s still a mermaid and missing her voice, the story must have gone differently. A lot of them did, of course.”

“So he might be a help or a hindrance.”

“Or he might at least know if we’ve got the right mermaid. I think we’d all like to avoid any magical hurricanes if we can help it.” 

Belle nodded. “Yes.”

“I’ll draw her picture, and we can ask him,” Bae said, taking out his sketchbook.

“Very good, Bae. In the meantime, let me show you what we’ve found,” Belle said to Rumplestiltskin, pulling him to his feet. He followed her more than willingly, and August retreated back to the culinary section. He was nosey, but he had already seen more than his fill of flirting between the Beauty and the Beast this past week. The phrase ‘ridiculously cute’ had come to mind, and then speculation about what the Dark One would do to someone who thought he could be ridiculously cute. Best to steer clear of that entire situation.

XxXxXxX

By the time Bae finished with the portrait, it was close to their usual stopping time anyway. None of the books they had found had looked terribly useful to his father, but Bae did not think that he was expecting them to be. Regina would hardly have left books like that lying around, after all.

Speaking of, they all tensed when they saw Regina walking towards Granny’s with Henry, Archie and Pongo. Emma was parked out front, leaning against her yellow car, and she stood up as they approached her. Papa and Belle shared a look, and he whispered, “Stay here.”

“No,” Belle said, “I won’t hide from her.” And she jogged across the street towards the diner, precarious in her high heels. 

Papa sighed harshly, then told Bae, “Stay here,” as he hurried after her.

Bae looked at August, and August gave him a questioning look. Bae ran after them, and August muttered, “Oh, why not?” as he followed.

“I was thinking tomorrow,” Bae heard Regina say to Emma, whose arms were crossed defensively.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“He’s my- what are you doing here?” Regina asked Papa accusingly. “Are you the Sheriff’s attack dog now? Trained to follow her every command?”

Papa chuckled. “Hardly. I have business with Miss Swan, so if you could hurry up with your little drama, dearie, I would be much obliged.” As Regina and Papa sniped at each other, August moved around the edge of the group to stand next to Archie, giving Pongo a brief pat. 

“What business?” Regina demanded.

“Nothing that concerns you.”

Regina looked at Emma. “This is the kind of person you’re exposing my son to? I wonder how many people in this town know how closely you’re working with the Dark One, oh great Savior?”

“Regina,” Mary Margaret said sternly from the walkway that led to Granny’s, and Regina puffed up, staring her down. “Let’s not fight in front of Henry.”

“Why not, since you’ve all apparently decided to ambush me?”

“We are not here to ambush you; the four of us planned to have dinner at Granny’s after you dropped Henry off.”

Regina raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And I suppose you’re just here for the blue plate special too?” she asked Papa.

Papa rolled his eyes. “Not everything is about you, dearie.”

Seeing that Papa was not going to explain himself, and that his taunting was only making Regina more agitated, Bae jumped in. “Papa is going to summon a mermaid that we think might help us with Pan; it was Emma’s idea.” Perhaps not completely correct, but close enough as far as Bae was concerned.

“You have one in mind, kid?” Emma asked hopefully.

“Yes,” he replied, pulling out his drawing and handing it to her. “She can’t speak, but Papa thinks he can do something about that. I don’t know her name, but August thinks it might be Ariel.”

“I know Ariel!” Mary Margaret said, “What do you mean she can’t speak?”

“I think Pan cursed her. She was helping Lost Boys, and he doesn’t like that.”

“She’s in Neverland? I thought she was with Eric.”

“Prince Eric is in Storybrooke,” Papa said, “And has no paramour that I’m aware of.”

“This her?” Emma asked, showing the drawing to Mary Margaret.

“Yes!” She looked at Regina. “Did you do this? Did you send Ariel to Neverland?”

“No!” Regina said defensively. “Mermaids can travel between realms; if she’s in Neverland, it’s because she wants to be. Maybe her prince wasn’t interested in fish bait? And I can’t believe all you so-called heroes buy this nonsense about Pan. Rumple’s playing all of you; that’s what he does. Can’t you see that?”

“No, he’s not!” Belle objected.

“How would you know? You haven’t been making any trips to Neverland lately,” she said nastily, and Papa growled.

“But I have,” Bae said quickly. “You know that; your curse took me from there. And where else could I have stayed fourteen for over two centuries?”

Regina narrowed her eyes at him, and Papa stepped between them, “Watch yourself, dearie.”

She didn’t back down. “So what if your brat has been in Neverland? It doesn’t mean this nonsense about Henry’s heart is true. How would Pan even know about Henry?”

“I’m not the only person who can see the future, dearie.”

“This is the most-”

“Mom!” Henry cut in. “Stop!”

“Papa,” Bae said, pulling on his arm, “Don’t.”

“Yes, let’s all calm down,” Mary Margaret said.

“How can you idiots fall for this?” Regina demanded, “You know what he is! While you’re off chasing shadows, he’ll fleece the entire town right out from under you!”

Papa snorted. “What makes you think I want the blasted town? You’re the one with an interest in ruling, Regina, not me.”

“Oh please, you collect power like other people collect Pez dispensers.”

“Of course I do, but kingdoms are another matter. Have you ever known me to conquer a kingdom for myself? And if I did not want a kingdom, what makes you think I’d want a backwater, little town in Maine?”

“I thought you already owned half the town,” Emma said.

“That was Regina’s doing. I dealt with her for wealth and power; she chose the form.”

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Mary Margaret said. “Regina, we already have multiple witnesses to what Pan is doing. If you want to help Henry, you should be helping us, not arguing with Rumplestiltskin.”

“If you think that rotten, old imp has any interest in helping Henry, I have a bridge made of bubblegum to sell you-”

“No, Regina,” Belle said sharply, “You’re the one who’s not thinking of Henry. You’re hatred for Rumple is blinding you to the truth-”

“The truth is that he’s the freaking Dark One!”

“Mom,” Henry tried again.

“Henry,” she said, “You cannot believe a word he says.”

“You did,” Papa said, smirking. “Frequently.”

“And look where it got me! You used me to bring you to this world to find your son; the curse was your doing! You forced my hand!”

“Correct on the first and the second, dearie, but not the third. With me, you always had a choice. That was the point; it wouldn’t have worked otherwise. Cora, as I recall, was not so accommodating.”

“Don’t you talk about my mother! You corrupted her too!”

Papa chuckled. “Oh, no, no, no; I’ll take no credit for that. She was dark a pitch before I even met her.”

“My father said-”

“Your father couldn’t possibly know. He met her the same night I did, and speak of deceiving someone….”

“I feel like we are getting really off topic here,” Emma said. “Look, Regina, we know what kind of man Gold is, but right now he’s our best shot to stop Pan.”

“Which is why this is nonsense! The curse breaks and Rumple immediately makes himself indispensable? Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s noticed the significance of that!”

David and Mary Margaret exchanged a look, but Papa was the one who spoke. “I wonder, Regina, if there is a particular reason you don’t want us speaking to this Ariel. Was it perhaps not Pan who stole her voice?”

“Regina…” Mary Margaret said. “You did that, didn’t you? I sent Ariel off to tell Eric the truth; she couldn’t do that without a voice.”

“Mom?” Henry asked, and the way Regina huffed, Bae could tell that Papa was correct.

“I think,” Archie said, “That throwing accusations around is not helping anyone. Regardless of the situation with Pan, Ariel is someone in need, a friend. We should help her, and if she also has knowledge about Pan, she can help us answer some of these questions too.”

“Hear, hear,” David said. 

“Well, I’m not interested in whatever wild goose chase Rumple is leading you all on. You have fun with your fish, I will take Henry to dinner.”

“No way,” Emma said, at the same time Henry objected.

“But I want to meet Ariel!”

“You can meet Ariel, kid,” Emma confirmed, starting at Regina.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous mermaids are, Miss Swan?”

“No more than you are, dearie,” Papa drawled.

“And Bae and I know Ariel,” Mary Margaret insisted. “I think it’s time for you to go, Regina.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” she sneered.

“Mom, please,” Henry said. “If you don’t want to stay and help, at least stop fighting with everyone.”

Regina gave Henry a long look, then addressed everyone else, “Fine. Listen to Rumple. Drive this town right off a cliff if you want to. But when he betrays you - and he will - and you’re left with nothing, wondering what the hell just happened, just remember that I warned you.” And she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Well, that was dramatic,” August said dryly. Papa and Emma snorted. August and Archie excused themselves, and the rest of them headed towards the docks.

XxXxXxX

August and Jiminy (and Pongo) had gone about a block and a half when Jiminy abruptly stopped. “Jiminy?” August asked, “You OK?”

“I’m going to join them at the docks,” and he turned around.

“What? Why?”

“They might need my help.” He was already walking away; August ran after him.

“With what? They’ve got Emma, Rumplestiltskin, Snow White, and Prince Charming; I think they’re good. Come on, Papa’s going to be wondering where we are.”

“You never know; something might happen. Go on home; I’ll be fine.”

“Um, no. Give me a minute to call Papa, and I’ll go with you.” 

“You don’t need to do that.” He just kept walking.

“Too bad; I’m doing it anyway.” Jiminy refused to stop, so August called his father as they walked. _This is exactly what he was talking about when he told me to keep an eye on you._

XxXxXxX

Henry was practically bouncing with excitement. _I get to meet an actual mermaid! Ariel! This is going to be so cool!_

He was disappointed that Mom hadn’t wanted to stay and help, but she hadn’t cursed anyone or done anything evil either, even when she got mad. And if she was being stubborn because she was afraid that Rumplestiltskin might betray them, that didn’t make her bad, just afraid. And Rumplestiltskin _had_ been a bad guy. 

He hoped that his Mom hadn’t actually taken Ariel’s voice, but he understood that she might have; she was evil back then, and he knew that she did things like that. As they walked, Mary Margaret explained how she met Ariel and how Mom had tricked her with the bracelet; Henry could believe that she had taken her voice too. _But if Mr. Gold fixes it, everything will be fine! She can have her happy ending with Eric, and we’ll learn more about Pan too!_ Henry knew everything would be all right. Even if they had to defeat Pan without Mom, she’d know it was the truth then, and then they’d have nothing else to fight about.

Emma decided that Belle, David, and Henry should stand a little way back on the dock, so they wouldn’t crowd Ariel too much. They looked back when they heard more footsteps and saw Archie, Pongo, and August walking towards them. August didn’t look happy. “Um, did you forget something?” Emma asked.

“No,” Archie said, “Just here to help.”

Emma looked at August, who just lifted up his hands as if to say that he didn’t know what was going on either. “O… K. Just stay back there; we don’t want to overwhelm her with too many people.” Archie and August nodded. Mr. Gold was staring at them suspiciously.

“Well?” Emma asked him, “You ready to do this?” 

Mr. Gold looked back at her. “If you insist.” He made a swirly sort of shell appear then walked to the very end of the dock. He blew into the shell, and just a minute later, Mary Margaret waved. 

“Ariel!”

Henry tried to see from where he was standing, but couldn’t. David put a hand on his shoulder to keep him back.

Mr. Gold extended his hand. “Ah, a simple curse indeed.” He flicked his fingers, and Henry heard a woman’s voice.

“Snow! And… Baelfire?”

“Yes!” Mary Margaret said. “And this my daughter, Emma, and… Baelfire’s father.”

“Thank you for returning my voice! And… daughter?”

“It’s complicated,” Mary Margaret said. 

“Perhaps it would be best to explain it where we don’t have to shout,” Mr. Gold said. There was a puff of purple smoke, and Ariel was suddenly sitting on the end of the dock - _she looks just like she does in the movie!_

“Hi!” Henry waved. “I’m Henry. Emma is my Mom.”

“Oh! Um, hi, Henry.” Everyone else then either introduced themselves or were introduced by Mary Margaret. 

“I didn’t catch your name,” she said to Mr. Gold.

“Rumplestiltskin,” he said, smirking and bowing slightly.

“The Dark One?”

“Indeed.”

“But… you’re human. I’ve heard the Dark One is… has scales. And you helped me.”

“Magic is different here, and so my appearance is also. And I have an interest in information that you might be privy to.”

“You had scales?” Emma asked. 

“Indeed, but we are getting off topic. I believe we can help each other.”

“How?”

“We need information on Pan. And if what Snow White has told me is correct, you would like to live happily ever after with a certain Prince-”

“Eric? You know where he is?”

“He’s here,” Mary Margaret said, “In this town. I’ll find him for you whether or not you agree to help us, but we really do need your help. You see, Pan is after Henry’s heart, and we need to know as much about him as possible. Baelfire said you were in Neverland?”

“Yes, I was. You’re going to fight Pan?”

“We’re going to stop him,” Mr. Gold said. “We’d like to avoid a fight if possible; fewer casualties that way.”

“Yes, of course. And of course I’ll help you. What do you want to know?”

“Well, can you tell us what you know about this Truest Believer thing?” Emma asked.

It turned out that Ariel didn’t know much about it. But she did know about Pan’s magic running out, and that he still sent his Shadow to other realms. “I’m so glad you’re alright, Baelfire,” she said, “The other Lost Boys thought something horrible had happened to you.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly great, but Storybrooke was better than Neverland, even before Emma got here.”

“Storybrooke? Is that the name of this realm?”

Then, Mary Margaret explained about the curse, with a little help from Emma (and Henry!) and Mr. Gold. “So you have defeated Regina?” Ariel asked Emma.

“Well, I broke the curse. She brought magic to this world, though, and is walking around, so you should be careful.”

Ariel put a hand on her throat. “I see.”

“Did she take your voice?” Mary Margaret asked.

“Yes, she did. She said… there were no second chances.” Ariel smiled. “It looks like she was wrong.”

“She most certainly was,” Belle said, “Rumple, can you give Ariel legs?”

Rumplestiltskin looked at her. He paused, then said, “Of course, my dear.” 

“You can?” Mary Margaret asked excitedly. Mr. Gold just nodded, putting out his hands in front of him. He pulled them apart slowly, a golden chain appearing between them. He looped it a few times, then ran his fingers along it. Something shimmered, and instead of a chain, he was now holding a simple, golden bracelet. He handed it to Ariel.

“As long as you wear this, your tail will take the form of legs.”

“I… why would you do this for me?”

“Payment for the information.” He leaned forward and smiled wickedly, “And I do so love to see Regina lose.”

“Rumple,” Belle scolded.

“Yes?” He asked, trying to sound innocent.

Bae sighed. “Do you know where Eric is?” he asked.

“In this land, he goes by the name Walter Fisker; you’ll find his address in the phone book.”

“What, you don’t have all your tenants memorized?” Emma joked.

“He’s not my tenant; he rents from Mr. Hand - Midas.”

“Tenant? Rent?” Ariel asked.

“It’s… complicated. I’ll explain on the way,” Emma said.

Ariel put on the bracelet, and her shimmery tail became a shimmery skirt and human legs. Mary Margaret rushed forward to help her stand up. “Thank you, but I think I’ve got the hang of it. And thank you,” she said to Mr. Gold as she stood up. She only wobbled a little.

“See?” August said to Archie, “They’ve got everything under control. You can sit down for five minutes.”

“Yeah, Archie,” Emma said, “Go home; we’ve got this.”

Archie blinked at her, like his was really tired. “Yes… I’m not certain what I was thinking.”

“Papa’s right; you’ve been working too hard. Come on.” August put a hand on Archie’s arm, and started to pull him away.

“Good night, Archie!” Henry said.

“Good night, Henry.”

“Wait.” Mr. Gold said. “I’ve a question for you, Doctor.”

“Yes?”

Mr. Gold quickly walked over to Archie, staring straight into his eyes. He lifted his left hand, and Archie shimmered. “Gold!” Emma shouted as Archie stumbled back, clutching at his heart. August caught him, looking at Rumplestiltskin in horror.

“What did you do?”

“Broke the memory spell over him.”

“What?”

“Regina…” Archie said. “She took my heart.”


	13. Negotiations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains discussion of child rape and incest.

Emma wished that she hadn’t been right. She really, really wished that she hadn’t been right. The look on Henry’s face broke her heart, and she was going to kick Regina’s ass for putting it there. After they got Archie’s heart back. _We’re not losing anyone else like Graham._

“Where do you think she’s got it?” Emma asked Gold. 

“I don’t know.”

“You must have a theory! You always do.”

He ignored her, instead turning to Archie. “I know you’re listening, dearie. I do not appreciate being spied on.”

“What?” Emma demanded.

“She can hear us through his heart. I imagine that is why she took it and blocked his memory of the event.”

“No,” Archie said, shaking his head, “She took it when I told her I could only recommend supervised visits with Henry.”

“I knew it!” Emma said. _Why did I have to be right?_

“Mom?” Henry asked, “Give it back. _Please._ You _promised_.”

“Give it back, Regina, or we’re taking it back,” Emma said.

“You probably shouldn’t provoke her,” Gold said way too blandly, “She might crush it out of sheer spite.”

“Mom, no! I’ll go with you if that’s what you want; just give it back!”

“Henry, no,” Mary Margaret said.

“Yes, Henry,” Archie said, “We cannot reward her for taking a hostage.” 

“Jiminy…” August said, looking stricken, his hand still braced against Archie’s back.

“But this is my fault! I’m why she’s doing this!”

“Indeed, lad,” Gold said dryly, “You’re the reason she took the cricket’s heart instead of, say, burning this town to the ground in her pursuit of Snow White.”

Emma glared. _Is that his idea of being comforting, or he just being an ass?_ “ _None_ of this is your fault, kid; this is all on Regina.”

He looked at Archie again. “Mom, _please_.” 

“Regina,” Mary Margaret said, “You have a choice here. You can do the right thing. You don’t have to hurt people anymore. Don’t do this to Henry.”

“I’m doing this for Henry!” Regina shouted, appearing in that same cloud of purple smoke. Emma was really starting to hate that fucking smoke. Regina held something glowing and red in her hand. _Is that Archie’s heart?_

“I don’t think you are,” Archie said, “I think you’re doing it for yourself, because you cannot to bear to be separated from him.”

“Shut. Up,” she said, squeezing the red thing in her hand. Archie doubled over gasping.

“Jiminy!” August said, grabbing him so he wouldn’t fall. Emma drew her gun - _for all the good it will do._

“Mom, stop!” Henry begged, his eyes wet, “Don’t hurt him!”

Inexplicably, Regina looked at the heart in her hand like she wasn’t sure how it got there. _It got there by you ripping it out of ARCHIE’S CHEST, you psycho!_ “Give it back, Regina,” Bae said, sounding nothing so much as tired, “If you care about Henry at all, give the heart back.”

“He wouldn’t give me a chance, Henry,” Regina said, actually having the gall to sound upset. “To make it up to you.”

“You have a chance now, Regina,” Archie said. “You can still do the right thing.”

“Yes, Mom,” Henry agreed, “Just give it back.”

She wavered. Suddenly, she jumped as the heart disappeared. Emma’s finger tightened on the trigger, but her eyes snapped to Gold as he drawled, “Thank you, dearie.” He was holding the heart in his left hand.

Henry saw it, sighing in relief. “Henry, I… I’m sorry. I… don’t know how to love very well.” And she vanished again. 

_Fuck._

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin looked at the heart in his hands. It was pristine. He knew it was the cricket’s, and yet the corruption that had spread as he robbed villagers, sold their names to the Dark One, and tried to curse his own parents no longer left its mark. _Interesting._ Nearly sixty years of good deeds had reversed the creeping darkness of his earlier life. Rumplestiltskin had never had the chance to examine a heart like that. It was… educational.

“Can you put it back?” Emma asked him, slowly lowering her weapon.

“Of course.” He ambled over to the cricket, the puppet still propping him up with his one, human hand. There might have been some sort of metaphor there. _Or the lad’s just right-handed._ “Hold still.”

The cricket did, only gasping a little as his heart was shoved back into his chest. “Thank you,” he said, sounding somewhat awed. The puppet nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Yes,” Snow White said, “Thank you. We never would have known she even had Archie’s heart if you hadn’t noticed that memory spell.” 

Belle took his arm, grinning. She kissed his cheek. He’d been about to mention the possibility of a favor, but maybe, just this once, he’d let the cricket have this one for free.

_I’ll just take the price out of Regina’s hide._

XxXxXxX

“Hello?” Geppetto called, opening the front door of Archie’s apartment.

Pongo immediately ran up to him, but did not jump; Archie had trained him better than that. And a good thing too, as Geppetto’s arms were full of take-out from Granny’s. August jumped up to help, and Archie was about to too, but they both scolded him. “Sit, sit,” Geppetto said. 

August agreed. “We’ve got this.”

Due to the small size of his apartment, Archie usually went to Marco’s for dinner, not the other way around. His kitchen table could only seat two, so they hadn’t shared a meal here since August had returned. Tonight, they made do. August leaned against the kitchen counter (Pongo watching his plate hopefully), and Archie and Geppetto sat at the table. They refused to let him lift a finger. Archie tried to think of a time in his life when someone had taken care of him like this, and he could not remember a single example.

It was touching, and Archie was truly grateful. 

But if they were still like this tomorrow, he might have to have a word with them.

XxXxXxX

If Emma hadn’t been angry at Regina before (and she had been), she sure as fuck was now. Henry had, of course, been quiet and depressed all evening (and seriously, what the fuck was she supposed to say to that: ‘sorry your adopted Mom magically enslaved your therapist?’). Then he’d had the nightmare. The nightmare that left a burn on his arm. The nightmare Mary Margaret confirmed was a side effect of the sleeping curse - the curse that was, one again, all Regina’s fault. _That woman is poison._

At least Gold had a solution. _Doesn’t he always?_ And he’d been rather gracious about it, which was new. _Maybe he has a soft spot for kids._ She’d only ever seen him with his own kid, after all, and yes, the guy was still marshmallow with him, even if it was now tempered by guilt. _Then again, he didn’t have a problem fucking me over when I was a kid._ Although, according to the Book, her parents would never have met at all if not for him. _Ugh, this is such a mess._

But Henry now had a newly healed arm and a charmed necklace to help him control the nightmares, so that was one problem solved. The much larger one, what to do about Regina, remained. And then there was Pan’s Shadow. If not for it, Emma would have floated the idea of taking Henry out of Storybrooke. Regina could have still followed them, but she’d have no magic. But they needed magic to fight the Shadow, so they couldn’t leave.

_Fucking Regina - why did she have to steal that potion?_

Gold’s offer to turn her into a snail was looking better and better.

XxXxXxX

_Damn him._

_Damn Rumplestiltskin!_

Regina had never planned to hurt the cricket. She’d just needed him to get access to Henry and to keep an eye on Rumple.

_Why did he have to spot that memory spell?_

She shouldn’t have squeezed Hopper’s heart like that, not in front of Henry. He didn’t need to see that. And he had seen. He’d seen her as the monster everyone had been telling him she was, and just that once, it really had been all her fault. The cricket had been no threat to her or to Henry; he’d just made her angry.

And then Rumple had once again turned everything to his advantage. She’d been about to give the heart back, and he’d just taken it. In front of Henry, Belle, and his own son, he’d ‘rescued’ the cricket - from her.

It was all part of his plan - _it has to be._ He was making himself indispensable, and no one but her seemed concerned by that. _Someone has to stop him. Someone who’s willing to do what has to be done._

_Even if he hates me, I will save Henry from Rumplestiltskin._

And if the imp managed to bring down a few of the heroes before she was compelled to step in, well, _they can’t say I didn’t warn them._

XxXxXxX

Belle, Nova, and the wolves had adopted Ariel, to no one’s surprise. The mermaid, it transpired, could not actually read, but was fascinated by the idea of books (and all things human, as the puppet had said), and so, of course, Belle had offered to teach her. It kept Belle even more occupied, which Rumplestiltskin might have minded had the full moon not been so close. As it was, he was busy in his laboratory every evening, ensuring that the potion would be ready to begin the brewing process; he was not about to wait a month to try again if something went wrong.

Apparently, he was not the only one making preparations for the full moon. On Wednesday, the younger wolf came to see him. “Belle told me that a lot of magical items from the Enchanted Forest came over with you,” she said.

“She is correct. May I assume this is about your cloak?”

“Yeah. Do you have it?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

She sighed, “You’re sure?”

“Quite. It is rather striking, and I did make it, after all.”

“You…? Of course you did. Could you make me another one?”

“Certainly, but those cloaks take a lunar year to craft. And I would not be able to start until next month regardless.”

“Damn.” She turned, but stopped after two steps. She looked back at him. “You wouldn’t happen to have any other ideas, would you?”

“Hm. Iron bars alone likely couldn’t hold you. Wait a moment.” He pulled out the potions kit he’d taken on his ‘house call’ to the Charmings the day before and selected a vial of purple liquid. “This is not quite powerful enough to make a werewolf sleep, but it will sedate you enough that a cage could hold you. I’d enquire with Sheriff Swan about using one of her cells. Her previous tenants were relocated to the hospital yesterday.” And what a lovely thought _that_ was. 

She looked at the potion. “What’s your price?”

Rumplestiltskin was not in the business of giving away favors for free, and yet in the past few days he’d given away more than one. Henry had been one thing (the boy had to be protected, and Rumplestiltskin did not make deals with children as a general rule), but he’d dealt far more generously with the mermaid and the cricket than was his usual wont. And Belle had smiled at him for it. And Bae… he honestly didn’t know what Bae thought about it, but, if nothing else, he hadn’t been angry. It was a start.

He held the vial out to her. “My price is… the truth. If Belle asks, tell her I helped you.” And she would ask. A friend in need, suffering from a horrible curse? Belle would never let Ruby deal with that alone, and from Belle, Bae would hear about it. Above all, what Rumplestiltskin wanted now was his son’s regard. A simple potion and some advice was nothing in compared to that.

_You know he’ll never forgive you._

_Shut. Up._

She gave him an intense stare, a wolf’s stare. Then she took the vial. “Deal.”

XxXxXxX

Emma not only agreed to let Ruby use one of the cells, she offered to set up a watch. David had jumped on the idea, and refused to take ‘no’ for an answer. And a good thing too, as it turned out that Ruby was not the monster they’d needed to stop; King George was. Well, not a King any more. Now he was keeping company with Moe and Smee in the newly converted prison under the hospital.

At least Billy was OK. George had drugged him and left him in his truck while he’d gone to the Sheriff’s station to let Ruby out and make it look like she’d escaped. He’d also had her cloak hidden in the trunk of his car, although he still would not say where he’d gotten it. 

He hadn’t counted on Mr. Dove, who had taken the over the watch from Mary Margaret at around one in the morning (Thursday was a school day, after all, and the dwarves, and David, were still on mine duty). The large man had given George quite the shiner (and, Ruby was sure, quite a headache) and Ruby (and Granny) insisted on treating him to breakfast.

“Thank you,” he said, accepting the plate piled with pancakes, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. As much a Granny complained about the dwarves, she enjoyed serving them because they ordered large portions and actually ate them. Mr. Dove, though he came in rarely, did the same. (Honestly, Ruby suspected that was one of the main reasons Granny had distrusted August Booth so much; he’d never ordered much, even if he stayed for hours. The man apparently lived off toast, coffee, and the occasional slice of pie. And alcohol, according to Emma - _no surprise there._ )

“No - thank you. You saved me, and Billy, and gave George that black eye I’ve wanted to give him for years. If you don’t mind me asking, who were you in the Enchanted Forest? I don’t think we met there.” 

“A dove,” he answered simply. 

“Ah.” She probably should have guessed that. “And here, you work for Gold?”

“Yes.”

“Did you, ah, know him back there?”

“Yes. I was a man. I was to be executed by my lord, and I called upon the Dark One. I asked for freedom; in exchange, he asked that I deliver his messages. When I accepted, he transformed me into a dove.” 

Ruby’s jaw dropped. “So, he tricked you?” _And I was starting to think Gold wasn’t such a bad guy!_

He cut into his pancakes. “Perhaps. I do not mind.”

“You… don’t?” 

“I like to fly.”

She thought of running, the trees rushing past, leaves bathed in moonlight. “You know, I totally get that. Coffee?” 

“Yes. Thank you.”

XxXxXxX

They’d hit diamonds.

And immediately started arguing about what to do with them. Leroy argued that Nova should get her share, but his brothers still hadn’t quite gotten used to the idea that Blue was not calling the shots any more. At least Charming backed him up.

“I’m going to talk to Snow. She wanted to have a Council meeting to decide what to do with the diamonds if we found any, but we both feel that some should go to Nova. She has been helping us, and we’ll need her help in the future with Pan.”

“You just tell me when,” Leory said. “Nova’s getting her share; I guarantee you that.”

“Probably tomorrow. The full moon is tonight, so Red and Gold are out, and Snow wanted a report from him about the potion anyway.” Charming sighed. “He really should be there; he can fact-check anything Blue tells us about the diamonds and what they can do.”

“Wait, Blue’s gonna be there? Why? I say she lost her spot when she walked out on us. After, you know, setting all this up.”

Charming sighed. “I know, but she is the leader of the fairies, and Snow thinks we need to work with her. Besides, unless we give them all to Nova, where will the diamonds go? Gold? If nothing else, Blue will keep them safe from Regina.”

_He has a point. If they all went to Nova, she’d be a target._ “Fuck.”

But asking Nova to confront Blue was asking a lot. _She’ll need back-up. And a weapon._

XxXxXxX

Of all the customers Rumplestiltskin might have expected, the ill-tempered dwarf was not among them. Nor was he welcome, when Rumplestiltskin was neck deep in preparations for his brewing tonight. “Can I help you?” he asked archly.

“Not me: Nova. She needs a wand.”

Ah. “I take it you found diamonds, then?”

“Yeah. You’ll get a call from Charming. Negotiation’s tomorrow about what to do with them, and Blue’s gonna be there.”

Rumplestiltskin smiled. _A negotiation with Reul Ghorm about the fate of the diamonds? What fun._ “And your fairy needs a wand to prove she is entitled to her share.”

“Yeah. And I know you don’t want Blue to get them all, so let’s not beat around the bush; you got a wand for her or not?”

“I do.” He limped over to the display, Leroy following. The dwarf’s eyes landed on an elaborately carved poplar wand so pale it was almost a true white, its platinum handle inlaid with bright pink tourmalines. He reached for it, but Rumplestiltskin slapped his hand away, instead picking up a simple amber wand with a gilded handle. “This one.”

The dwarf narrowed his eyes. “Why that one?”

“Because, when your fairy learns that you got her wand from me - and she will - she will ask you if I obtained it by murdering its previous owner. With this one, you can honestly tell her that I did not.” And it was the weakest wand in the bunch. Nova meant well (and had been a good friend to Belle and Bae, for which Rumplestiltskin was appreciative), but her focus and skill were more than lacking. With a powerful wand, like most of the rest in his collection, she would be an absolute menace. 

The dwarf looked at him suspiciously. “How’d you get it, then?”

“It was traded to me by its previous owner. Another fairy that broke with Reul Ghorm over a matter of… ethics.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Sunspark. You may share the tale with your fairy; she may recognize the name, although I’m sure Reul Ghorm tells it differently.”

The dwarf snorted. “I’ll bet she does. What happened?”

Rumplestiltskin smiled. A dwarf, disillusioned with Reul Ghorm, was asking _him_ for the truth about a fallen fairy. _How gratifying._ “Let’s see, this would have been over a century ago now, factoring in the curse. You may not be aware, but King George’s kingdom was not always as large as it was when he inherited it. The Northeastern corner was once a kingdom of its own, a mineral-rich stretch of mountains that his ancestors coveted for many years.

“Its last king was capable and strong, but also a man of… unnatural appetites. He ‘enjoyed’ the company of young girls not yet grown to womanhood. As he kept the kingdom safe from foreign invasion, this was tolerated.”

“That’s sick,” the dwarf growled.

“Indeed. Girls from the town, daughters of the castle servants, even his own daughters - for the sake of the kingdom, the King was allowed any girl he desired, until one. She was the daughter of a shepherd. He saw her while out on a hunt, and demanded to have her. Her parents resisted, and in his rage, he ordered his men to slaughter them both and carried the girl away to his castle.

“After ‘having’ her, he locked her away, officially declaring her the King’s mistress. A girl of nine.” Rumplestiltskin sneered. 

“Why didn’t you do anything?” the dwarf asked accusingly.

“She didn’t call for me. Instead, she wished on a star. And not only for herself, but for the other girls the King would surely ravage if allowed to continue. Sunspark was the only fairy to heed her call, but she was inexperienced, and so after agreeing to help the girl, she went to Reul Ghorm to request advice on how best to do so.”

Leroy growled. “Let me guess, Blue said not to.”

“Right in one. The kingdom, you see, would surely be consumed by its larger neighbor if the King were deposed, and so, ‘for the greater good’ Reul Ghorm ordered Sunspark - or Orange, as was her color - not to interfere. Unwilling to take that as an answer, Sunspark asked the other fairies for assistance, but they all refused to defy Reul Ghorm. In the end, she called on the only other person she thought could help her. Me.

“She offered me the wand in exchange for my assistance. She was fairly clever about it too. I was to stop him, but not kill him, and as Sunspark knew that she would lose her wings simply for summoning me, let alone making a deal, she asked to be returned to the kingdom so that she could care for the girl as a mortal woman. As you can see, I took the deal.”

“What did you do to the King?”

“I transported him to a very small island in the middle of an untraveled ocean. He lasted a good six months before succumbing to the elements.” Rumplestiltskin was grinning wickedly. He’d kept his word; he hadn’t killed the King, the relentless hurricanes had.

The dwarf barked out a laugh. “Good. What happened to Sunspark and the girl?”

“Sunspark lived long enough to see the girl into womanhood. The King’s ‘attentions’ left her barren, but in the spirit of the fairy who saved her, she established an orphanage. It survived for many years, until King George burned it down.”

“Fuck that guy,” Leroy grunted. “So what do you want for the wand?”

He looked at the wand. He usually demanded magic for magic, and the obvious choice would have been to ask for Nova’s first share of the fairy dust. But Rumplestiltskin knew something about geese and golden eggs (he should - he’d enchanted more than a few, making bets with himself on how long it would take for the owners to get impatient and kill the birds), and such a price would weaken his negotiation position for tomorrow. It was a gamble, but if he could argue a regular supply of fairy dust out from under Reul Ghorm’s nose, it would be among the sweetest victories he’d ever had. And even if it did not go to him, the more of it he could bargain away from Reul Ghorm, the better for everyone. He also envisioned the expression on Reul Ghorm’s face when she saw her little, fallen fairy with this particular wand. And the one on Belle’s when she learned it had come from him.

He looked at the tag. “Eight hundred dollars.” It was a low price; the amber and gold alone were worth more than that (in this world, anyway - amber was more common in the Enchanted Forest, and gold there was only worth as much as Rumplestiltskin decided it was worth), but it was also a lot of money for the dwarf, let alone the fairy. “And a condition.”

“What?” he demanded.

“This wand does not find its way back to Reul Ghorm. If for some reason your fairy decides that she does not want it, you will return it to me.”

The dwarf nodded. “I can do that. Um, you take checks?”

“Of course. Who in this town would dare to write me a bad check?”

XxXxXxX

A second confrontation with Blue - August really didn’t want to be there. But at Belle, Papa, and Jiminy’s urging, he went anyway. They needed Nova, and she needed all the back-up she could get. And August, well, he had a rather vested interest in the state of Blue’s magic. It wasn’t that he necessarily thought that Blue might suddenly decide to ‘deactivate’ him, but after everything he’d learned about her, it wasn’t off the table either.

_Fuck._

This time, they met at the Town Hall. It was a larger space, and Queen Snow had requested that all of the fairies attend. _Maybe we can convince more of them to leave._

_Or maybe they’ll gang up on Nova._ August knew a thing or two about gangs. Mostly, he knew it wasn’t a good idea to get involved. But he was already involved. Ignoring the problem would not make it go away; August had learned that the hard way. He had no interest in repeating the lesson.

Queen Snow had set up four tables into a square - _probably as close to the Round Table as she could get._ August sat in one corner, next to Jiminy. He could see Blue but wasn’t directly facing her. Rumplestiltskin had taken that particular seat, and August probably should have expected that. August didn’t like confrontation as a general rule, but he wouldn’t object to seeing Rumplestiltskin take Blue down a peg or two. _He has that right, after what she did; we all do._ And he was the one guy in town who might actually be able to pull it off. 

Blue must have thought so too. She was staring at him like he was the only threat in the room. _Ten bucks on the Dark One._ August had already bet his life on him, after all.

Everyone milled around for a few minutes until Queen Snow called the meeting to order. She was seated in the middle of the side opposite August, Blue dominating the side to her left, Rumplestiltskin the one to her right. Between them, they formed a triangle of power, a tactic that was clearly deliberate on all of their parts. It was rather fascinating, really - if only the tension in the room weren’t so suffocating.

“Thank you all for coming. As you know,” Queen Snow began, “We have located diamonds in the mines. First, I want to thank Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Dopey, Happy, David, and Doc for all their hard work in doing so.” Everyone applauded. “We are here now to discuss if and how the diamonds will be distributed.”

“Forgive me, Snow,” Blue said, “But will they not go to the fairies?”

“Perhaps so, but which fairies?” Rumplestiltskin drawled.

“It is my responsibility to determine that,” she said.

“Oh, no it’s not, lady,” Emma said, “Not here.” _You tell her, Emma._

Blue looked genuinely baffled. “The fairies are my responsibility,” she reiterated.

“Your puppets, you mean,” Rumplestiltskin sneered. August flinched. “And when they stop out of line you… _cut_ their strings.” _Yup. Sounds about right._

“Order must be maintained.” _Thank you, Minister of Love._

Yeah, no,” Emma said, “We don’t trust your definition of ‘order’. That’s why we’re here.”

“Everyone,” Snow said sharply, “Please, let’s discuss this calmly. Blue, David and I feel that Nova should receive a share of the diamonds. Her help has been invaluable to us, and we are uncomfortable with all the diamonds being controlled by one person.”

Blue stared at her, uncomprehending. Snow White had basically just told her that she didn’t trust her, and it looked like it might have fried her brain. _Never expected that to happen, did you? Ha!_ “Nova has renounced her vows. She is a fallen fairy.” 

“And yet,” Belle said, “She helped us when you refused to. Since the curse has broken, what have you done to help the people of Storybrooke?” August nodded, along with half the table.

“We helped reunite the families torn asunder by the Dark One and the Evil Queen.”

“Again with that?” Emma sighed. “You remember that we know your part in that, right? He gets no pass from me, but neither do you, and he’s actually been helping. How about a sign of good faith? What do you know about the Sorcerer and the Apprentice?” _Oh, good call, Emma._

“They are elusive and unlikely to help you.” _Damn._

“Then how do you suggest we get these people home? You said bringing the magic here would help with that, and, thanks to you, Regina brought it. We’ve got your diamonds, so what’s the hold up?”

“The way will reveal itself in time.” _Bullshit._

“Bull.”

“Emma!”

Emma looked at her mother. “What? It is. I am done with this vague quest, destiny stuff. If she won’t give us any straight answers, I say all the diamonds go to Nova. Hell, I’d rather they go to Gold than Mother Superior. He hasn’t blown us up yet with the magic stockpile he’s already got; we don’t know what she’ll do with them.”

“I…” Nova spoke up nervously, “I can’t take them all. It’s too much; I wouldn’t know what to do with them.”

Blue smiled; it turned August’s stomach. “That is very wise of you, Nova.”

David looked unimpressed. “Snow and I do agree that the diamonds should not be kept all together; whoever had possession of them would be too obvious a target for Regina. And Pan.”

Gold tensed, but nodded. August knew there was a bigger story there, but had decided not to pry. Let Gold deal with Pan; August wanted nothing to do with a guy who could scare the Dark One.

“May I ask a question?” Jiminy asked.

“Of course,” Snow answered.

“How, exactly, are the diamonds harvested? Is that something Regina can do?”

“That,” Rumplestiltskin said, “Is a very good point. The diamonds must be harvested by an appropriate magical tool, such as a dwarf’s axe, or several of the items in my own collection. I’m not actually sure if Regina possesses anything with that capability. I’m inclined to believe that she does not; she’s never shown any interest in light magic before.”

“The Dark One is understating the danger,” Blue said. “Even if she does not possess one of these items now, she could obtain one.” She looked at him accusingly, and they all knew what she was implying.

Rumplestiltskin made a quiet ‘hm’ sound, smirking slightly, but did not say anything. “What could she do with the diamonds?” Emma asked Gold.

“That depends on how she would manage to harvest them. They are essentially a power source for light magic. They can be more versatile if harvested the right way, or corrupted by a sufficiently powerful and knowledgeable practitioner, but I sincerely doubt that Regina possesses that specific knowledge.”

“But you don’t know for certain,” Snow said.

“I do not.”

“You possess that knowledge,” Blue said.

Rumplestiltskin only smiled. “I do. But you knew that when you arranged for the magic to be brought here; it obviously did not concern you then.” _Point to the Dark One._

Blue pursed her lips. “I arranged nothing. Regina made her choice.”

“Based on very… selective information she received from you.”

“What do you mean?” Henry asked. _Uh oh._

Rumplestiltskin grinned. “Would you like to field that one, Reul Ghorm?”

“No,” Emma said sharply. “I’ll explain when we get home,” she told Henry.

“But-”

“I don’t want you in the middle of this, Henry,” and she glared at Rumplestiltskin. “I’ll tell you at home.” Rumplestiltskin inclined his head slightly. _Point to Emma._ Henry pouted. 

“I’d like to hear from the other fairies,” Snow said. “What do you think should be done with the diamonds?” They all looked at her, then at Blue. Some looked at Nova. Blue smiled at them in the beatific way. August frowned. 

“Well…” the fairy (Sister Beatrice) who had helped with the missing posters began, “The dust has always been the responsibilities of the fairies. It is necessary to balance out the dark magic in the world.” Blue nodded serenely, and Beatrice smiled like she’d received a reward. August felt sick.

“Except from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look like your head honcho has been ‘balancing out’ the dark magic; it looks like she’s been egging it on,” Emma said. Beatrice just stared at her. _Point two to Emma._

Blue frowned. “I understand that many things are not clear to you-”

“Yeah, that’s right. And why is that? Because you refuse to give any of us a straight answer. I’m revoking your ‘cryptic bastard’ title, Gold; its hers now.”

“I shall mourn the loss,” Rumplestiltskin deadpanned. August couldn’t help it; he started snickering. Bae joined him. _Point three to Emma!_

“Emma!”

Emma gave Mary Margret a jaded look. “What? You didn’t have a problem when I called him that, and he’s given us more answers than she has.”

“Emma, have a little decorum.”

“Why? She obviously doesn’t have the slightest bit of respect for any of us.”

“That’s not true, Emma,” Blue said. _That would be way more convincing without the condescension, Blue._

Emma obviously thought so too. “I didn’t say you could call me Emma.”

Blue frowned, “Princess-”

“Sherriff,” Emma snapped.

“Sherriff, then. I understand that you are frustrated, and that you do not know our ways-”

“That’s just it; I do know them. The lies, the manipulation, I’ve seen all that before. My whole life, I’ve known people like you - people who think they’re better than everyone else. The only thing special about you, lady, is the number of people you managed to convince it’s true. As far as I’m concerned, the only difference between you and Regina is that Regina is sometimes willing to get her hands dirty. And no one here thinks Regina should have those diamonds, do they? I don’t think you should get them either.”

The appalled look on Blue’s face was utterly hilarious. August hadn’t intended to say a word (he had no intention of drawing Blue’s attention, especially if she was walking away from this meeting with her wand finally powered up), but he couldn’t just let that go. “I agree with Emma,” he said.

“Pinocchio.” Blue actually sounded hurt. _Not buying it._

“It’s August,” he said. Only Papa was allowed to call him Pinocchio; from everyone else, even Jiminy, he preferred August. He’d been August too long to go back to the boy he’d been, and Blue was the one who’d made all of that happen. She had no right to pretend it didn’t matter. 

“All right, I’ve got a question here,” Leroy said. “If you get these diamonds, you gonna use them to take Nova’s wings? See, ‘cause when you talked me out of running away with her, you said she’d ‘lose’ ‘em, like you’d have nothing to do with it. But that’s not how it works, is it?”

“That’s right,” Bae said. “Tinker Bell told me how you do it.”

“When a fairy breaks her vows-”

“You mean the one about helping people? That’s what Tinker Bell was trying to do. And Nova’s helped us more that you have.”

“Tinker Bell stole pixie dust.”

“To help someone with it.”

“Someone whose life was tainted by darkness.”

“Aren’t those the people who need it the most?” Belle asked, Rumplestiltskin’s hand still in hers. Emma and Snow nodded.

“Who was she trying to help?” David asked.

“Regina,” Rumplestiltskin answered simply. “She was attempting to find her a new love. It very nearly worked, too.”

“Wait, you had another chance to stop all this and instead you mutilated the one person who tried?” Emma demanded.

“You wouldn’t let Tinker Bell help my mom?” Henry asked.

“There are rules. Tinker Bell broke them, not once, but many times.”

“And who made these rules? I’m betting it was you,” Emma said. “And can I take from all this that your answer to Leroy’s question is ‘yes’? The first thing you’re going to do with your power is hurt somebody? Why are we even considering this?” Emma asked her parents.

“I have to agree,” Snow said. “Blue, I cannot in good conscience allow you to take Nova’s wings.”

“Snow,” Blue said, “I know you mean well, but you cannot jeopardize the greater good for one person.”

Leroy snorted. “That’s what you told Sunspark, right?”

Blue went very still. “Where did you hear that name?”

“From him,” he said, jerking a thumb at Rumplestiltskin. “He told me a really interesting story about her. Anyone here want to hear it?”

“Yeah,” Emma said.

It was a hell of a story, even if he could only allude to certain things with Henry sitting right there. “This kingdom wasn’t called Omelas, was it?” August asked dryly.

“No,” Rumplestiltskin answered, smiling, “But there are parallels to be drawn.”

“Omelas?” David asked.

“It’s a story,” Bae said. “About a city where everyone is peaceful and happy because they dump all their rage and darkness onto one child.”

“That’s terrible,” Nova said. 

“Yes, it is,” Snow said. “It is wrong to sacrifice one person for the convenience of the many.”

“It was not mere convenience; many died after the kingdom was invaded, and King George inherited a stronger kingdom for it. The war dragged on longer than it had to because of that.” _And there’s just no way you could have stopped that guy from fucking little girls without leaving the kingdom open to invasion? Maybe it’s time to rethink the whole absolute monarchy thing, Blue._

Emma looked sick. “That’s what that was about? The curse - me - _again_? You let that guy… just because you wanted it to be easier for my parents to defeat George later? I am done. I said it before; I’d rather the diamonds go to Gold than you, and I don’t want them to go to Gold. If Nova doesn’t want them all, I say we leave them where they are.”

The fairies looked at Blue, and Snow and David exchanged glances. “You will leave the victims of the curse trapped here, if you decide up on such a course of action,” Blue said. “I require fairy dust in order to break the curse on the town line.”

“Yeah, see, that goes back to sacrificing people just to make life easier. No.” Emma looked at Gold. “Can you break the curse on the town line?”

“I intend to, after the Shadow is dealt with.”

“There. Problem solved.”

“You are putting far too much faith in the Dark One; there must be balance.”

“At the expense of Nova’s wings? Again, no.”

Blue frowned. “And if I give my word not to take them?” Nova looked up, startled.

Emma narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure how much I trust ‘your word’, lady.”

Blue frowned deeper. “A contract, then. We must be allowed to do our work; the people will suffer if you prevent us. If your demand is that Nova keep her wings, I will honor that. For all you speak of not trusting me, I know you do not trust the Dark One either; if you leave us powerless, he will be completely unchecked.” It was a valid point. 

_Damn._

Blue’s offer opened the floodgates. The fate of the diamonds was debated in excruciating detail, and after nearly two hours of discussion, it was decided that the bulk of the diamonds would be left in the mines, but some would be harvested and refined and then equally distributed among those fairies that possessed wands (Nova included, thanks to Leroy and Rumplestiltskin). Blue was not pleased, and August was not comfortable with such a large proportion of the dust going to Blue’s loyal followers, but at least he knew he wasn’t alone in that. 

_They say a good compromise leaves everyone unhappy - let’s hope they’re right._


	14. Broaching the Subject

Nova couldn’t believe it. She was the first fairy ever to break with the Blue Fairy and to keep her wings. She had a wand, and soon she would have fairy dust.

_I can be a fairy godmother. August was right. And Dreamy, and Belle, and Bae, and Ruby, and Ariel._

It was all because of her friends, and her love. _Is that why fairies are not allowed these things? Because they have the power to defy Blue?_ She didn’t know. She wasn’t sure it mattered, now that the rules had changed. 

Queen Snow hadn’t just argued for Nova, she argued for all the fairies. Blue was now not allowed to take a fairy’s wings unless she was convicted of a crime, and the tribunal requested that Blue do so. The contract only applied to Storybrooke, but Nova wasn’t sure of she wanted to go back to the Enchanted Forest anyway. She liked this world, and she knew Belle and Bae intended to stay. August would go where his father went, but would prefer to stay if his father agreed. Ruby wanted to go back to the Enchanted Forest. Nova hadn’t yet asked Ariel.

“Thank you,” she told Dreamy, after most of the others had left.

He smiled bashfully. “No problem. You deserve it. And so did she, after all she pulled.”

“You risked so much. I don’t know if you know how much this means to me.”

“Should’ve done it sooner. I should have listened when you told me about her. I should have listened to you period.”

She took his hands and squeezed them. “You are now; that’s the important thing. I need to go to the animal shelter now, but after… would you like to have dinner with me?” They’d been sticking to breakfast so far, with the occasional lunch. She’d wanted to take things slow, and he’d respected that. 

He smiled at her. “Always.”

_I’m the luckiest fairy in the world. All of them._

XxXxXxX

Storybrooke settled into something resembling routine. 

After her time in the hospital, Belle wasn’t the biggest fan of routines. Or the fact that ‘routine’ meant that she and Rumplestiltskin were not moving forward in their relationship like she had been hoping they would. Or much at all, really.

She understood that he was busy. She understood that he was worried about Bae, about the Shadow and about rebuilding their relationship. She understood that he was doing his best to make better choices and that it was not easy. What she didn’t understand was why, when they were alone, he had such trouble opening up to her. 

And they had yet to make love.

They kissed often. They shared a bed. He held her, and she loved it, but he never asked to go further. At first, she’d been relieved. She had not been ready, but did not want to have to turn him away. But as she became more comfortable, she’d expected him to initiate more contact, and he hadn’t.

That left it up to her, and while she (as contrary as it was to everything she’d been taught) did not object to taking the initiative, she had neither the experience nor the vocabulary to explain what she wanted. She only understood these things in the crudest possible terms, and she knew there was far, far more to the act than that. She’d been counting on his experience to bridge the gap, but she didn’t even know how to broach the subject without revealing her utter lack of education on the subject.

_Is it possible that he does not want me?_

Theoretically, she supposed it was, but she had trouble believing so with how he kissed her. _Is he concerned about getting me with child?_ That, she could understand. With the threats of Regina and the Shadow still looming, and the difficulty between Rumplestiltskin and Bae, she could see why he would not want to risk bringing a new child into this world at this time. And they weren’t married. She was in no particular hurry on that score, but it would be unfair to bring a child into the world without it.

_But surely his magic could prevent one from growing?_ It was a conversation she knew they had to have, but one that she had no idea how to start when things were still so new, and he still guarded his heart so closely.

She needed advice. Nova, unfortunately, was not terribly well educated on these matters either. “I know there are ways… condoms,” she whispered, “And pills, but you will need to go to a doctor for that.”

“Have you and Leroy…?”

“No! No, no, no, no… We’ve… kissed. That’s all. I don’t want to go too fast, and…”

“Yes?”

Nova frowned. “It’s… difficult. In this world. To… to have sex before you are married is… many people think it is acceptable. That you’re supposed to, even. But not the Church, and those are the memories I have. Birth control is a sin in their eyes, and before the curse broke, I believed it too. And fairies aren’t supposed to, of course.”

“And what do you believe now?”

“I’m not sure. I only know I’m not ready. I think you should ask someone who knows more, maybe Ruby? She, um…”

“Yes?”

“Before the curse broke, she was, um, we thought she had been with, ah, many different men?”

Belle dropped the book she was holding. “Regina made Ruby…?”

Nova looked away. “Yes. I don’t think most of it actually happened, but the curse made us all think it did.”

“Including Ruby.”

“I think so.”

“That… that woman is horrible!” It wasn’t that Belle thought less of Ruby - or any other woman - for being with men (she’d never thought it fair that men were applauded for being with many women while women were cast out for being with even one man they were not married to), but she hadn’t actually chosen it. That was the most important thing, and the one line that Rumple had never crossed as the Dark One. Not like that disgusting Sheriff Nottingham. She shivered, remembering how that man had attempted to buy her, and that brief moment when she thought Rumplestiltskin might agree. But he hadn’t; he hadn’t even considered it. For all he called himself a monster, he’d never forced sex on anyone. 

_Not like Regina._ Shortly after the curse was broken, Belle had asked Rumple about the fate of the Huntsman. He’d been kind to Belle while she’d been Regina’s captive, and Regina had raped and murdered him. Belle’s heart ached.

“I don’t know if I should ask Ruby then, it wasn’t her choice.” 

Nova nodded. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re right.” 

But who was left? Ariel wouldn’t know. Emma would, but Belle did not know her well enough to ask. She hadn’t seen a book in the library about it, and didn’t feel comfortable using Baelfire’s computer to research this particular topic. She could only think of one other person, and perhaps he might have some insight into Rumple’s point of view as well.

XxXxXxX

Belle wanted to know about sex.

_Holy fuck! Why is Belle asking me about sex?_

August blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Do you know how couples in this land prevent pregnancy? Nova mentioned something about condoms; do you know how they work?”

_Yes, I am intimately acquainted with how condoms work. WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?!_ “… Yes? Have you… have you asked Mr. Gold about this?”

She bit her lip. “I was hoping to have some knowledge of the subject before I brought it up with him.” OK, he could understand that. She didn’t want to look like a blushing virgin in front of her boyfriend, a man who had to have been around the block a few times. She’d apparently asked Nova, but the former nun hadn’t had the background to answer her questions. _Fuck you, abstinence-only sex education! Shit._

“Have you asked Ruby?”

She frowned. “I’d prefer not to ask Ruby. Nova told me that she was cursed to be… promiscuous.”

“I…” _Oh, God, she’s right._ August felt sick. He’d only flirted with Ruby (and anyone else in Storybrooke - pain and imminent death were among the few things that killed his libido), but he hadn’t put together that her interest in him (and the men of Storybrooke) might have been fabricated by the curse. _I’m scum. Horrible, idiotic scum._ “Emma?”

“I thought of her, but I thought I’d ask you first, since we’re friends.”

“We are?”

She looked hurt. “Aren’t we?”

_Shit._ “I’m sorry.” August ran a hand through his hair, “I’m not used to, ah, having friends.”

“Why not?” she asked, concerned.

_So, so many reasons. Mostly, I’m an asshole._ “Ah, never stayed in one place long enough, I guess. So, what was your question?”

“Condoms. What are they?”

“Right, condoms. Condoms are… like a sheath. They go over a man’s…”

“Penis?”

“Yes.” August wasn’t usually shy about discussing sex. Was rather brazen about it, in fact, but he didn’t usually discuss it with people who weren’t themselves already well acquainted with the particulars. And he definitely wasn’t used to discussing it with the Dark One’s girlfriend. “You can get them at the drug store. Lubricant too, although many condoms already have it built in. I’m sure Mr. Gold knows how to use them.”

“Lubricant?”

“…To prevent chafing.”

“And that can be a problem?”

“It can be. It’s best to be prepared.” She nodded.

“Are you uncomfortable discussing this?” Yes.

“Just… wasn’t expecting it. But of course you wouldn’t know without cursed memories, and that’s not your fault.” _It’s Regina’s. I am totally blaming her for this._

“Well, thank you. I had another question, if you’re willing to answer?”

“I suppose that depends on what it is.” _Please don’t be about anything kinky._

“As a man - how do you think a woman should tell a man she is interested in being intimate with him?”

He blinked. “I assumed this is about you and Gold?” She nodded. “So I take it you haven’t…?” She shook her head. “And he hasn’t taken the initiative?”

“No. That’s what concerns me; I don’t know why. I thought he might be concerned about getting me pregnant, so I thought that if I came to him prepared, it would help.”

“It might. I guess… be direct. Talk about it. He might have some other hang-up that you have to talk about. I’ll be honest with you; my longest relationship lasted most of a long weekend. I don’t really know about this sort of thing.” August had never hung around waiting for a ‘yes’; if he didn’t get one immediately, he walked away. And if his answer was ‘no’ (although it vary rarely was), he said so and ran. Emotional investment just wasn’t part of it for him.

She nodded. “You’re right; I should be direct. I just… In Avonlea, that’s just not how it’s done. But it’s silly; if we cannot talk about it, how can we be expected to do it?”

“Yes, exactly. Um, I’m a gathering Avonlea isn’t exactly progressive?” _There was that one line in the Book about those clerics…_

She laughed. “Certainly not. Not like this world. Nova said… it’s expected here? Sex without marriage?”

“Um, generally, yeah. People get married a lot later, though. But don’t do it just because it’s expected.”

“No, no, of course not; I want to. I just… I wish I knew if he does.”

“I’m… pretty sure he does,” he said.

“You’re sure? How do you know?” she asked hopefully.

“Pretty sure. I’ve seen you together.” _Every damn day._ Gold came by the library to pick Belle and Bae up every evening. When he was there, the guy followed her like a puppy, and when she wore that gray sweater August was pretty sure was actually Gold’s, he radiated with want. If he hadn’t made a move yet, he either had some sort of serious hang-up or the best self-control of anyone August had ever met (not that most of the people August had met were particularly good with self-control). 

“Just talk to him about it. If he’s put off by you doing that, that’s a serious red flag.” 

“I will, August, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” It wasn’t her fault, but his usual response of ‘no problem’ would have been a lie. _Fucking Regina._

XxXxXxX

It was difficult, but Rumplestiltskin and Bae had at least come to a place where they could discuss his schoolwork calmly - as long as they didn’t touch on anything else.

“Thank you, Papa. I’m going to bed now.” Bae wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“You’re welcome, Bae. Good night.” Rumplestiltskin longed to embrace him as he had every night before the curse broke, but he knew it would be a long time - _if ever_ \- before Bae would welcome that again. 

_How long are you willing to wait for him to forgive you?_

_As long as it takes._

_Fool._

“Good night, Belle,” Bae called into the living room.

“Good night, Bae.”

Rumplestiltskin stared at his hands on the table as he listened to Bae climbing the stairs up to bed. Belle came into the dining room. Rumplestiltskin looked up, smiling at her. She smiled back. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he took her other hand, kissing it. “I’ve some work to do-”

“No,” she said.

He looked up at her. He would never tolerate this position or such an order from anyone else, but Belle was different ( _she’s always been different_ ). He only asked in confusion, “No?”

“No.” She smiled. “Come to bed with me.” 

“You desire… company?” he asked slyly. He was not averse to an evening in her arms. They’d had precious little time together, and though he desired more than he could imagine she was ready to give, just holding her was more than he had ever expected to have.

She gazed at him through half-lidded eyes. “I desire you.” _How? How could you possibly?_ He’d never understand how she could say something like that, but, greedy monster that he was, he couldn’t challenge it either.

He stood up and kissed her soundly. “Like this?”

Lips swollen, she leaned her forehead against his. “More.”

“More?”

“I want… to be intimate.”

“Intimate?” In that moment, Belle had robbed the Dark One of all his clever quips, all his ensnaring words. He honestly could not comprehend that she might be asking what he thought she was.

She looked his straight in the eye. “I want to have sex. With you. Do you want to?”

_Gods, yes._

“I…”

“Is it the possibility of a child that concerns you? I have condoms. And lubricant.”

_Condoms and lubricant? She has condoms and lubricant? How does she have condoms and lubricant?_ He must have been staring. “Is it something else? Rumple, what’s wrong?”

“N- nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

She looked concerned, reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ear. “Then why haven’t you answered my question? Do you want me?”

“Yes. Oh, Gods, Belle…” _How could she think otherwise?_

“Then is there something else?”

“No, I… you’re certain you want this?” _How can she?_

She kissed him deeply, slowly, then answered, “Yes, I’m certain,” her blue eyes peeking up at him through dark lashes.

“Oh, Belle,” he said again, panting lightly. “You must tell me to stop. If I do something you don’t like, tell me to stop and I will.”

“If you do, I will; but I do not think I will need to.

To his utter bafflement and great relief, she didn’t.

XxXxXxX

Henry was moping, and there wasn’t a damn thing Emma could do about it.

_He really thought Regina was becoming a better person._ Of all the things Regina had done, Emma thought that breaking Henry’s heart like this was among the worst. _He believed in you, and you enslaved his friend, you psycho bitch._

Obviously, she wasn’t going to say anything like that to Henry, and while Mary Margaret would be open to the sentiment (she’d been fighting this battle with Reina a lot longer than Emma and Henry had, after all), she wasn’t particularly tolerant of phrases like ‘psycho bitch’.

And Emma still wasn’t over the abandonment thing. Yes, it had been her best chance and everyone else’s. Yes, her parents had wanted to go with her, and Marco and the Blue Fairy (mostly the Blue Fairy) had made it so neither of them could, but it still _hurt_ , and the fact that everyone seemed to expect her to be fine with it now was seriously pissing her off.

David Nolan and Mary Margaret had not even been aware that they had a daughter; Snow White and Prince Charming had only lived mere minutes between giving her up and finding her again. But Emma had lived twenty-eight years, always believing that her parents had abandoned her. Yes, August could have told her different if he’d stuck around ( _Could he have? Would I have believed it?_ ), but whatever Marco had told him, that wasn’t his job; it was her parents’. _You couldn’t have written me a letter? You didn’t even know August was going with me; if he hadn’t, I’d have died of exposure under that fucking magic tree._

August.

Emma didn’t know what to do about August. He came to every Council meeting ( _like a good boy_ ), but she never saw him otherwise. From Ruby, she heard that he was helping Belle with the library but otherwise barely left his father’s house.

“She thinks he’s embarrassed about the wood thing,” Ruby had explained.

Which was understandable, but hardly going to improve the whole ‘wood thing’. And Emma missed him. 

Her history with getting attached was pretty shitty. There was Lily, who Emma had tossed out on her ear after she screwed her over - _twice_. There was Nate, who’d apparently run after being confronted by a past that wasn’t even his - _he was probably just looking for an out._ There was Graham, who Regina had murdered because he got close too Emma - _fuck you, Regina._ There were Henry and Mary Margaret who were, thank God, still around and OK, but things were complicated with them, and Emma couldn’t pretend otherwise.

And then there was August.

For all he thought he’d failed with her, he had saved her life as a baby. Calling the cops on her had sucked, but unlike Mary Margaret (and Lily), he made no excuses and wasn’t following her around begging for forgiveness (or assuming he already had it). And he had come through in the end; hell, she’d arrested him for kidnapping, and he’d just waved it off with a smile and a ‘go get ‘em’. She’d thought they were friends.

Were they?

He hadn’t come to see her since the curse broke. But then she hadn’t gone to see him either. Maybe he was her friend, maybe he wasn’t; she’d never know if she didn’t confront him. Hiding like he was wasn’t doing him any favors, and that meant it wasn’t doing her any either. She’d never have the chance to settle things with Lily, Nate, and Graham, but she had the chance with August. She had to take it.

It was after lunch; he’d be at the library.

XxXxXxX

“Got another book from the Enchanted Forest here,” August said. It was a history of the ruling family of Arendale. He’d never heard of that particular kingdom, but it was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.

Belle took it eagerly, but frowned upon seeing what it was. “You OK?” August asked.

“Oh, yes. This is Ingrid’s family.”

“Ingrid - Mr. Gold mentioned that name.”

“Yes; she has magic. He does not think she’s a danger, not now, at least. What she wants is back in the Enchanted Forest. Just the same, I think we should be careful with this.”

“Of course.” He would have anyway; it was a truly beautiful book.

The front door opened. “Hi, Emma,” he heard Bae say. _Emma?_

He shared a look with Belle, and they both headed in that direction. 

“Hey, kid; how are you doing?”

“Fine. How is Henry?”

Emma sighed. “It’s tough. We haven’t heard from Regina since the thing at the docks. Is August around here anywhere?”

“I’m here, Emma,” he said, a step behind Belle. “Do you need something?”

She gave him an intense look that he couldn’t decipher. “Yeah; I need to talk to you. You got a minute?”

He shifted nervously. “Um, sure. Is that OK, Belle?”

She was looking between them like she could read the situation easily as one of the books. It seemed she could. “You know what, why don’t Bae, Nova and I get some hot chocolate at the diner?”

“Oh, you don’t have to-” August began.

She shook her head. “It’s been decided; come on.” Bae and Nova looked concerned, but followed her. “Do either of you want some?” Belle asked.

August shook his head. “No, thanks.”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Emma said.

“You’re sure? It’s very good,” Nova said enthusiastically.

Emma sighed. “You know what? Why not? Tell Granny to put cinnamon on it.”

“Great! August?”

“Ah, still no. I don’t actually like chocolate.” Nova stared. _Here we go._

“You don’t?”

“Yeah. It’s fine. Thanks, though.” They left, Nova still looking a bit confused.

“You don’t like chocolate?” Emma asked.

“Ah, hate it, actually; always have. What did you need?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“About what?” he asked nervously. 

“Why haven’t you come to see me since the curse broke?”

He blinked. “I didn’t think you wanted to see me.”

“Why?”

_Why?_ “Because I… because everything.” 

“Everything what?”

_Does she want an itemized list?_ He’d been avoiding this conversation ( _story of my life_ ), but he did owe it to her (that too). If she’d come for her pound of flesh, it was more than her right. “Everything. Leaving you, Nate, jail - everything. You have every right to be mad-”

She tossed up her hands. “Why is it that you and Gold are the only people who seem to think that?”

“Gold?”

“Yeah.” He laugh was rough. “When he was helping me put those wards up. He said I could ahead and blame him for everything; it’s in his job description, apparently. He doesn’t care if we all hate him, as long as he gets his kid. Is that it? You don’t care if I hate you? Your job’s done; you found your dad; everything’s good?”

OK, that hurt. “What? No! I… of course I care.” And that was something he did not generally admit to people, especially himself. It was easier not to care, at least for as long as he could convince himself it was true. “You just… you should be mad. I left you. You were a baby, and I left you. I’m sorry. I am. I’m… weak.” _Cowardly. Selfish. Dishonest._

“August,” she sighed. “You were seven. And even if you had stayed; it wouldn’t have mattered.”

“What do you mean? Of course it mattered! I could have told you everything then! I could have been there for you.”

She shook her head. “No, August, you couldn’t have. My first family - I got sent out of state. They wanted a baby girl, and even then I was just their back-up plan, because they didn’t think they could have one of their own. They never would have taken a seven-year-old boy.”

“How do you know you would have been sent there at all if I had stayed?”

She sighed. “August, you know the system splits kids up all the time, and you didn’t even tell them you were my brother.”

He laughed hollowly. “Of course not; that would have been a lie,” he said, voice dripping with irony. Before he’d left, he had learned enough to realize he should have lied about that. “I could have come back sooner,” he said.

“What? When you aged out? Even if you could have found me, I can just imagine it - eighteen-year-old you in your leather jacket and your motorcycle shows up and tells eleven-year-old me that I’m a fairy-tale princess? If the lady running the home didn’t call the cops, I would have. Someone else tried the stalker thing with me, August; I’m glad I didn’t have the deal with that twice.”

“What?” _Someone stalked Emma while I was out drinking and getting laid?_

She shook her head impatiently, holding her forehead. “This girl, Lily; it doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters!”

“This isn’t about Lily, August; it’s about us. Are we friends or not? I thought we were, but after the curse broke, you just ran away.”

“Emma, I… I sent you to _jail_.”

She looked at him, hands on her hips. “And I’m still pissed about that, but at least you’re not pretending it doesn’t matter. The truth is… you did come back. This time, you were there when I needed someone, and then you ran away. _That’s_ what pisses me off. Just tell me, was it just about breaking the curse for you? Did you care about me at all?”

_I’m a bastard. A cowardly, dishonest, selfish bastard._ “I did. I do. I thought… Emma…” _Tell her the truth for once, you selfish dick._ “The truth is… I’m just like Nate. I’m bad for you.” _I’m bad for anyone._

“Bullshit.”

“Emma…”

“You are not like Nate. You didn’t encourage me to steal things. And you didn’t sell me a story about happy-ever-after and then leave the second something weird happened.”

“Emma, that ‘weird’ thing was me!”

“Yeah. Yeah it was. And if he cared about me, he’d have told you to go to Hell. But he didn’t, did he?”

“No,” August muttered.

“Did he know you were calling the cops?”

“Yeah.”

“And he didn’t stop you. Or turn himself in and take the blame. He’s as guilty as you, but he never came back. You came back. You’re here now. So tell me, are we friends or aren’t we?”

There was only one honest answer to that question, and she wasn’t going to like it. He told her anyway. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t _know_?”

“No, I… Emma, I have only ever had one friend in my entire life. And to be perfectly honest with you, I was a total dick to him for most of the time I’ve known him.”

“Who - Archie?”

August sighed. “Yeah.”

She gave him a considering look. “What do you mean you were a ‘total dick’?”

“You read my story. I never listened to him. And I used to do things like… tie him up and shove him in the coo-coo clock,” he mumbled.

Emma laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. “That’s… that’s terrible. But you were a kid, August; that’s different. I’m talking about now.” 

“Now? This is what I am now.” He tightened his left hand into a fist until the wood creaked. He still wore gloves. “I’m such a screw-up I’m not even fully human anymore.”

“You already turned partway back. And that whole thing is screwed up anyway. Like, Nova’s wings levels of screwed up. You shouldn’t have to earn your humanity, August. If anyone in this town should be turning to wood, it’s not you, and really, I wouldn’t even do this to Regina. No matter what she’s done, she’s still human. So are you.”

He shook his head. “No, Emma, I’m not.”

“OK, maybe not technically human, but a person. Like… Wall-E.”

August laughed darkly. “Wall-E was brave, truthful, and unselfish.” _Loyal and hard working too._ “I’m really more of a Bender.”

Emma cocked an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware you wanted to kill all the humans. And you’ve never once called me a ‘meatbag’.”

This time, his laugh was genuine. “You watched Futurama?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah,” she said. “Always kinda liked Leela. I, ah, stopped watching after she found her parents, though.” She laughed. “Maybe I should start again.”

“Because you though it could never happen for you,” he said, swallowing hard, “And then, it did.”

“Yeah. And you’re not Bender so much as Fry.”

August snorted. “I’m not sure if you’re calling me an idiot or implying I’m my own grandfather,” he said teasingly. And it wasn’t a fair comparison. Fry was braver and more loyal than August had ever been, but he didn’t have the courage to say so to her. He deflected. “Nova would be Amy.”

Emma grinned. “So Leroy’s Kif?”

“Hopefully, she won’t get him pregnant,” he deadpanned. 

“What?” Emma asked, laughing.

“Oh, ah, I guess you didn’t get that far - spoilers,” he said sheepishly.

She smirked. “OK, who’s Farnsworth, then?” 

After a beat, they both said, “Gold,” and cracked up again.

“See?” August said, “That’s another reason I can’t be Fry; no way am I Rumplestiltskin’s great uncle. I refuse.” She laughed harder.

“OK, fine; you’re not Fry. But you’re not Bender either. Look, August… I get being new to the ‘friend’ thing. It’s new to me too. But if this… if you meant any of this just now, you can’t just run away and pretend it doesn’t matter. Did you mean it?”

He could deflect. He could say ‘I meant it when I said I wasn’t Rumplestiltskin’s uncle.’ It would be easy. But it wouldn’t be right. “I meant it,” he said quietly. “All of it.”

“Then stop running.”

“I’m not sure I know how,” he confessed, unable to meet her eyes.

“Neither did I. Henry kept dragging me back. And Mary Margaret. And you.”

He knew what she meant. That’s what Papa and Jiminy had always done for him. _And why I promptly drove my life right off a cliff without them._ He’d spent so long thinking they were the only people who would ever do that for him that he’d never been able to get close to anyone else (not that foster care and relentless travel had helped). But here Emma was, after everything he’d done to her, dragging him back. “I’ll try,” he said. “I can’t promise more than that.” He didn’t have the best luck with promises.

She looked at him, evaluating the truth of his words. “I’ll take it,” she said finally, sticking out her hand.

They shook on it.

XxXxXxX

Snow White would never be OK with having missed out on her daughter’s early life, but it seemed they were finally getting a chance to settle in as a family. It was to both her great sadness and great relief that Regina was keeping out of the way and was not part of it. On one hand, it had seemed to Snow that Regina had finally - finally - started showing some measure of remorse and desire to change, but after everything, when their wounds were still so fresh, Snow didn’t know how she could have coped with sharing Henry with her.

And now that they’d stopped having a crisis every other day (usually caused by Regina), they’d finally had a chance to relax a bit and get to know each other as a family. Emma was even branching out and making friends with the townsfolk. She and Ruby got along great, and they’d gone out for drinks a few times. The dwarves loved her. She also kept a close eye on Belle and Bae and made a point to visit the library at least a couple of times a week.

Part of that was August. She’d cleared the air with him, which thrilled Henry to no end. He now had someone to chat about comics with (even if he thought it was a complete travesty that August was not interested in video games), and seemed to have latched onto the idea that Emma and August should be a couple. Snow and Charming had been a bit alarmed by the idea at first, but not as alarmed as August had been when they brought it up with him. He’d been so earnestly insistent that he had no romantic interest in Emma that Mary Margaret now strongly suspected that he was gay. David wasn’t sure. They had a bet going.

And then, after several weeks of relative normalcy, Henry had a dream that changed everything.


	15. In Dreams

“Gold,” Rumplestiltskin grumbled into his phone. He was awake, but barely. 

“That pendant you gave Henry stopped working,” Emma said without preamble.

“Impossible, unless it was tampered with. Are you certain he remembered to wear it?”

“Yes, he was wearing it! He also has burns all over his arms; you said it would protect him!” she snapped.

_Damn._ “Where are you now?”

“At the emergency room; where else would we be?”

“I’ll be there shortly.” He hung up over Emma’s sputtering.

“What’s wrong?” Belle asked sleepily.

“A little emergency with Mr. Mills; it shouldn’t take long.”

“Henry? Is he all right?”

“He’ll be fine, sweetheart; I will see to it. Will you wake Bae if I’m not back by seven?” 

The smile she gave him was radiant. “Of course; go take care of Henry.”

He smirked. “As my lady commands.” He kissed her briefly then dressed quickly. He noticed with some annoyance that he would soon have to have his suits refitted. He’d gained a pound or two after finding Bae just by virtue of eating regular meals, but Belle seemed to have made it her mission to get him to fill out some more. While he had no objection to that on principle, altering his wardrobe to accommodate was a hassle he was not looking forward to dealing with. He might just have to use magic (although he had no intention of sharing that little detail with Belle and Bae).

He grabbed his cane, then teleported to the emergency room. “There’s no smoking in the hospital, Gold,” Emma said dryly.

“It’s not actually smoke in a strict physical sense,” he explained. “It contains no particulate matter.”

“What is it then?” she asked.

“Magic, of course. I can travel without it, but I find most people appreciate the warning.”

“Can Regina travel without it?”

“I never taught her to.”

“Why not?”

“I appreciate the warning. Now, Henry, I hear you had some trouble with that pendant I gave you.”

“Er, yeah.” He looked down at his arms. “But it wasn’t a problem in the dream; I don’t know what happened.”

Rumplestiltskin wasn’t quite able to follow Henry’s eleven-year-old logic. He took a seat, examining the boy’s right arm and asked, “What do you mean?”

“The dream started the same. The fire was everywhere, so I just told it to calm down and get away from me.” Rumplestiltskin nodded; that was exactly how the pendant was supposed to work. “When the flames died down I saw someone, so I yelled for her, and she told me her name was Aurora and that she is from the Enchanted Forest! Then she disappeared.” 

“Ah. Did you try to approach her?”

“Yeah. Is that bad?”

“The pendant is working fine, but you were forcing yourself deeper into the netherworld in order to speak to her; that involves certain risks. You say she disappeared suddenly. My guess is that someone woke her before her soul was ready to leave, causing a disruption. Because you were close to her at the time, you were caught in that disruption, causing the burns.”

“You said it couldn’t hurt him if he controlled it,” Emma accused.

“It did not occur to me that he would use that control to push himself towards the flames instead of away.” Although perhaps it should have - the Charmings were all brave to the point of foolishness, and Henry had already proven himself more than worthy of the moniker.

“But she can tell us what’s going on in the Enchanted Forest! We didn’t know there were people back there!”

“No way, kid,” Emma said. “You need to stay safe; that is your job. Worrying about the Enchanted Forest is our job.” Rumplestiltskin simply nodded, healing the burns on Henry’s arms.

“But I can help!”

“You’re a kid. No. If we decide we need to talk to Aurora so bad, an adult is going to do it.”

“But I’m the one who has the nightmares! Mary Margaret said she doesn’t have them anymore.”

“She can, with a little intervention,” Rumplestiltskin said. “Now that we know about Aurora, it would be easy to arrange.”

“See?” Emma said, “You did help, but it’s time to let the adults take over.” Rumplestiltskin agreed with that, but Henry was even worse than Bae had been at that age (just as fearless and eager to help, but less obedient), and he did not expect that Emma’s words would be taken well.

“Danger aside, Snow White is the better choice,” he explained, “She knows what questions to ask, and what the answers will mean.”

Emma looked at him with a measure of grudging gratitude. “Exactly.”

Henry pouted. “I guess. Thank you for healing me, Mr. Gold.”

“You’re very welcome Henry. I did agree to help you, and I cannot have people thinking that I do not honor my agreements.”

“Yeah, Gold; thanks. Can I send Mary Margaret your way if she decides we need to talk to Aurora?” Rumplestiltskin knew it was not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’; but in any case, the answer was the same.

“Of course.”

“Ah, sorry about the rude wake-up call.”

He grabbed his cane and stood up. “Think nothing of it. Perhaps I should include warning labels with my enchantments. Use as intended. Not for use on pets,” he said, smirking.

Emma chuckled. “Do not put in microwave. We wouldn’t want to send anyone back in time.” Henry laughed with her.

“Certainly not,” he said, confused, “But that is impossible anyway.”

“Well, that’s something,” she said, standing herself. “August really doesn’t want to be his own grandfather.” 

“I should think not,” he said, even more confused. Henry was laughing too hard to stand. Considering that the puppet’s grandparents were themselves in exactly that state he’d been trying so desperately to avoid (they were currently sitting the back room of the shop; he’d stored them away back there after Bae had declared them ‘creepy’) there was a certain irony to the statement, but obviously there was also some inside joke he wasn’t getting. “If there’s nothing else?”

“Not right now. Mary Margaret will probably be in touch.”

He nodded. “Of course.” 

“Bye, Mr. Gold!”

“Goodbye, Henry, Sherriff Swan.” Just to show off, he disappeared without the smoke.

XxXxXxX

“I don’t like this,” David said.

“I know,” Mary Margaret said, “But it has to be done. This is the best lead we’ve had since the curse broke, and she can tell us so much! This could get us _home_ , David.”

“I know, but I still don’t like it,” he grumbled. She kissed him.

“I know, but everything will be fine. I have the pendant, and you’ll be here to bring me out of it if you have to.”

He turned to Rumplestiltskin. “Is there any way we can see what she sees while she’s under?”

“Well, yes, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“What is it?” Emma asked.

“I can remove her heart and you can look through it, as Regina did to Dr. Hopper.”

“Um, I think we’ll pass,” Emma said.

Mary Margaret nodded. “Yes, I think so. Everything will be fine, David. I’ve faced these nightmares before, and without the pendant. I’ll be safe with it; don’t worry so much.” She smiled and caressed the side of his face. He kissed her again.

“Just remember, I will _always_ find you.”

Gold huffed impatiently. “If you’re ready? Considering the cavalier way the three of you traipsed off to battle a dragon, you’re making an awful lot of fuss over a dream.”

“Yes, but we were together then,” Mary Margaret said archly. “Don’t tell me you’d be so calm if it were Belle.”

“I wouldn’t take Belle dragon slaying,” he said dryly. “Now lie down if you have any intention of doing this sometime before dawn.”

David and Mary Margaret shared a look. Neither one of them imagined that Belle would agree to stay behind any more than Mary Margaret had, but now wasn’t the time to bring it up. Snow lay down on the cot ( _why does Gold have a cot in the back of his shop?_ ), and Rumplestiltskin handed her a vial.

“Tincture of poppy. It will place you in a sleep so deep that it will mimic the after-effects of the sleeping curse and allow you to travel back to the netherworld. We can only hope that Aurora also returns there tonight.” 

She did.

It was agony for David to watch Mary Margaret struggle with the nightmare and not wake her, but she’d deliberately left her arms bare so they could see of she developed any burns. She did not, and so he let it go on, as he had promised. It seemed to him to drag on for hours before Gold declared that her soul had returned from the netherworld on its own, and they could wake her.

“David?” she asked groggily.

“I’m here,” he said, kneeling by the cot and holding her hand.

She smiled. “I told you it would be fine. She told me so much.” She struggled to sit up.

“Don’t push yourself,” he said, “There’s no hurry.”

“Oh, but there is! They have built a stronghold, David, and you’ll never guess who leads it.”

“Who?” Emma asked.

“Lancelot!”

“Lancelot!” David said, smiling. “I wondered when he did not come to any of the town meetings; I was afraid Regina had killed him.”

“So was I, but it worked out for the best. With most of us gone, the ogres have advanced again. He set up the stronghold, and is keeping them safe until we can return.”

“Ogres?” Emma asked. “They were in the Book. In Belle’s story… and Bae’s too.” She looked at Gold. David didn’t think she had intended to say so much (it was quite late after all), but his Emma was not one to back down from anything, even a mistake.

Gold only nodded. “Over the years, ogres became something of a specialty of mine. If you’ve read Bae’s story, you know why.” 

“Sure you don’t want to come back with us? Sounds like we could use your help.” It was more of a test than an offer, and they all knew that.

Rumplestiltskin only smirked. “Between the Dark One and the ogres, Miss Swan, I think you will find that most people would choose the ogres.”

“Belle didn’t.”

“Belle is unique.”

David couldn’t contest his point - either of them.

XxXxXxX

“Oh, Phillip!” Phillip sighed in relief. Aurora had lectured him roundly the night before for waking her up in the middle of her nightmare. There’d been a little boy this time, she’d said, and she’d been trying to speak with him. Phillip had been sure it was just a strange variation of the dreams that had plagued her since he broke the sleeping curse, but Mulan had agreed with Aurora that the boy might be significant, that he might even be a sign that Aurora was working through the dreams. They had both extracted a promise that he not wake her tonight, and he’d kept it, even as she’d twitched and struggled. _I knew this was a bad idea._

“Shh, Aurora, it’s all right; you were just dreaming.”

“No, it wasn’t just a dream; I spoke to Snow White this time! She’s with the people that were taken by the curse; I have to tell Lancelot what she told me. This… this is hope, Phillip!” She smiled, and Phillip smiled too, although he had to disagree with her phrasing. While it was good news indeed that they’d made contact with Snow White and learned the fate of the people who had been taken (assuming that Aurora’s interpretation of her dream was correct), Aurora was his hope and always had been.

“Come on,” she said, climbing to her feet. Phillip followed.

XxXxXxX

_At last._

This was exactly what Cora had been waiting for for twenty-eight years (longer even, as she’d known reconciling with Regina would never be possible as long as she didn’t think she needed her mother). The curse was broken, and Regina was defeated but not hurt. Rumple, oddly enough, was working with the heroes, but Cora knew that wouldn’t last long.

She was almost ready to make her move, but as helpful as the little princess had been, she had not asked all the right questions. They were already composing a list of what she would ask tonight, but Cora would take no chances. In the guise of Lancelot, she ordered Phillip and Mulan to take their turns on patrol, then harvested the princess’ heart. Tonight she would be the one speaking to Snow White.

XxXxXxX

“The apprentice is elderly but able-bodied, full gray beard; does anyone in your encampment meet that description?” Snow asked Aurora.

“I’m afraid not. But if he is as powerful as you say, he may not need our protection.”

Snow nodded. “That was Rumplestiltskin’s theory.”

“So… you have been working very closely with the Dark One, then?”

Snow shook her head. “I know it doesn’t sound believable, but he found his son and his True Love, and he understands that it’s best for them if he helps us.”

“He has a son and a… True Love?”

“I know, I didn’t believe it at first either, but yes, he does. They’ve both been very helpful too.”

“What are their names?”

“Baelfire and Belle. But they won’t be returning with us.”

“They won’t?”

“They’ve decided to stay on Earth, and we will be asking everyone else what they would prefer as well. This new world, it’s very different, and, in some ways, better.”

“In what ways?”

“Oh, it’s complicated. The medicine and technology are much more advanced, and the government is different. No one is a peasant here.”

Aurora laughed incredulously, “So everyone is royalty?”

“No, there is no royalty either. Well, there is, but not in this country. Government officials are elected into office by the people.”

Aurora’s lip curled. “How… odd. And the Dark One prefers such a land?”

“His son does; I think that is why they are staying. His magic is not so powerful here, and, as I said, he is less…”

“Evil?”

“Well… yes.”

“How do you know he is not deceiving you?”

“I suppose we don’t. But I believe in offering second chances, and so far he truly has provided help.” He’d actually been indispensible ( _Regina is right about that_ ) and it was suspicious, but Snow refused to let paranoia compromise her values. This was Rumplestiltskin’s second chance, and so far he’d made good use of it. Henry was convinced that Bae and Belle were the reason for the change, and between the Book, what David had told her about the day Regina had brought magic to Storybrooke, and her own observations, Snow had no trouble accepting that explanation (OK, some, but only a little).

“Are you certain that he knows no other way of travelling between realms?”

“Well, no. We do only have his word that the Sorcerer and the Apprentice are the only ones who can bring everyone home, but it is the only lead we have.”

“Everyone?” Aurora asked. “What about just a few people? You could send a search party to look for the Apprentice yourself. I believe I may have heard of such a thing; portal jumpers I believe they’re called? Perhaps he knows where you could find one of them?”

Snow could smack herself. “Jefferson! Why didn’t we think of that? With magic here, his hat will work! Oh, Aurora, thank you!”

She smiled. “You’re very welcome, Snow. Please let me know when you plan to arrive; I will have Lancelot send out a group to meet you.”

XxXxXxX

“No,” Jefferson said. There were people on his front step and he didn’t like it. “Go away.” He tried to slam the door, but the Sherriff had stuck her foot in the way. “GO AWAY!”

“No,” she said. “Look, I know what Regina did to you, but we need your help.”

“ _I_ needed help. No one ever helped me. You didn’t even try to make my hat work,” he muttered.

She growled - _like a bandersnatch._ “You kidnapped Mary Margaret and drugged me. I also wasn’t up on the whole magic thing then. This is about getting everyone home; you wanted to go home before.”

“ _No._ I wanted Grace. _My_ daughter. _Her_ memories, not these fake ones. Can you get rid of them? You were supposed to get rid of them.”

“That’s not how the curse works, apparently. I broke the curse, but that doesn’t just undo everything. Henry said you found her-”

“Yes. And she doesn’t want to leave. I’m not leaving her again,” he hissed. “Find someone else.”

“What about the hat?” Snow White asked. “Would you give us the hat? I’m sure Rumplestiltskin could make it work.” Jefferson laughed. _Make it work. Make it work. Makeitworkmakeitworkmakeit…_

“I don’t have the hat,” he lied. “The Queen took it.” Go bother her; leave me in peace.

“That’s right,” the Sherriff sighed, “That was in the Book. Thanks,” she said wryly. _Wry. Rye. I should bake you in a pie. GO AWAY!_

They left.

He called the Dark One.

“Jefferson, what can I do for you?”

“Don’t tell them I have the hat. I sent them after the Queen; let her deal with them.”

Jefferson could feel him smiling. “Oh, this should prove amusing. But you know I don’t do things for free.”

“What do you want?” he demanded. _Better the Dark One than them; he stayed away. Not like Her._

“How about a favor?”

“Nothing that separates me from Grace,” he said immediately. There was only one favor he’d ask for, after all, and that would just bring him back where he started; but he couldn’t just say ‘no’. “Or puts her in danger,” he added. It wasn’t good enough, but it was better than them. _Queen Snow. Queens are never good. Aces are better. Rumplestiltskin is an Ace. Hopefully, no one draws a two._

“Hm. Agreed.”

“Agreed,” he parroted.

“Good day, Jefferson.”

“No, it’s not.” He hung up.

XxXxXxX

The thing was, everyone knew where Regina was staying. She was holed up in her house (sometimes her vault), occasionally going into town for groceries or other essentials (and, like Gold, no one dared refuse to serve her). Emma would have been happier with her behind bars, but they had no way to hold her, so mutual avoidance had been the watchword until now.

Now they needed Jefferson’s hat and they were going to get it.

“Regina, open up!” Emma said, pounding on the front door. She was at it a good fifteen minutes before Regina finally got fed up and opened the door. Emma tried to take a step inside, but she smacked right into an invisible barrier that practically sizzled with power. “What the hell?”

“You think you’re the only one with blood wards on your home?” she asked archly, arms crossed primly.

“Right. Blood wards. Listen, Regina, we’re here for Jefferson’s hat.”

“What do I look like, a haberdashery? Get off my porch.”

“We know you took it,” Emma said. “It’s in the Book; that’s how he ended up in Wonderland. We need it now to find the Apprentice, and we’re not leaving without it.”

“Yes, you are. Even if I would give it to you, which I would not, I don’t have it anymore. He took it back when I was in your little jail.”

“We were just at his house; he doesn’t have it.”

“Then ask Rumple. You may have noticed that he hoards magical items, and whatever he says, he is not above stealing them.”

“Regina-”

The door slammed in her face. After another minute of pounding, a powerful wind came up and pushed them right off the porch. It didn’t stop until they were off the path into the street. 

Emma sighed. “We’d better call Gold.”

XxXxXxX

“I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

“That’s a first,” David said suspiciously.

Gold sighed. “Permit me to let you in on a little secret.” He leaned forward slightly. “I’m not actually omniscient,” he whispered dramatically.

Emma snorted then asked. “You can’t track it?”

“It’s a hat; it doesn’t have personal possessions,” he drawled.

“Could you at least tell us if which one of them is lying?” David asked. On the way over, Mary Margaret had suggested that Jefferson, not Regina, might be lying. Neither David nor Emma thought it was likely, but Jefferson was hardly a saint (he’d kidnapped Emma and Mary Margaret, after all), and they couldn’t rule it out.

“I can see the future; lie detection is not my gift,” Rumplestiltskin said. He turned to Emma. “It’s yours; I told you that you could hone it if you practiced.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to get into the whole magic thing.”

“Far be it for me to manufacture competition, but in the particular case, I really can’t help you. I suggest you start practicing, Miss Swan, if you want to know the truth of this matter.”

“And how do I even do that?”

“Are you asking for lessons?” he asked teasingly.

She glared at him. “Not from you.”

He chuckled. “Well then, Nova is at the library, although I’m not sure how much help she will be. Her progress with the wand has been, ah, spotty.”

XxXxXxX

He’d been speaking literally. Nova’s hair, sweater, and shoes were covered in pink splotches.

“I think I need to work on my focus,” she said sheepishly. “I was trying to turn them all pink and back again, but right now I’m just stuck.”

“You’ll get it,” Belle said encouragingly.

“It’s embarrassing,” she said. August looked at his left hand but said nothing. Emma noticed that for the first time since the Curse broke, he wasn’t wearing gloves, even though his left hand was still wood. _Good for him._

Emma, it transpired, needed to work on her focus too. Half an hour into her lesson with Nova, she’d achieved nothing but a splitting headache.

“I’m sorry,” the fairy said, “I don’t know how else to explain it. And fairy magic is different from human magic.”

Emma sighed. At this point, it was pretty obvious that the only one who really had the knowledge and skill to teach her magic was Gold, and she really didn’t want to go down that path. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, “We’ll think of something.”

XxXxXxX

“Henry, what are you doing here?” his mom asked. She didn’t sound mad.

“Do you have Jefferson’s hat? We really need it.”

She sighed. “No. I had it in my office. When I was asked to leave, I took all my things with me, and it was gone. Do you believe me, Henry?”

He wanted to.

So he did. Believing the best of people couldn’t be wrong; he didn’t want to be in a story where that was wrong. Yes, she’d screwed up, but so had Rumplestiltskin, and they believed him. “Yeah, I do. I think Jefferson just doesn’t want to take us.”

She looked away. “No, I imagine he wouldn’t.” She’d read the Book; she knew that Henry knew what she’d done to Jefferson.

“Ariel and Eric are doing great,” he said. “And Archie and August. If we can just find the Sorcerer, everyone can be happy.”

She looked sad, but asked, “Are you happy?”

“I’m happy I have Emma. And David and Mary Margaret and Archie and August and Ruby… I wish you hadn’t taken Archie’s heart,” he confessed.

“You said he was fine.”

“Yeah, but I wish you’d helped instead of hurting him, then I could have you too. I can’t be with you if you’re not good. I think Bae is right about the magic; it makes you do bad things. But you can still choose to be good if you want to; Rumplestiltskin is.”

She shook her head. “Henry, listen to me; Rumplestiltskin cannot be trusted-”

“Stop!” he shouted. “Just stop! I need him to be good, don’t you see? If he can do it, you can, and I need to believe that you can.”

“Do you believe that?” she asked quietly.

“Yes! That’s why it hurts that you weren’t. I thought you were doing it, then you lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie-”

“Yes, you did! You used your magic to hurt Archie after you promised you wouldn’t. You can’t use magic to hurt people, not ever. How can I love someone who would do that?”

She still wasn’t angry, just sad. “You should go back to Emma’s, Henry.”

He didn’t want to fight. “Fine.” He left. He’d be in trouble after he told Emma and Mary Margaret where he’d gone, but that’s what heroes did; they told the truth, even if it would make people mad.

XxXxXxX

“Snow!”

“Aurora! Over here!”

As before, Cora pushed the red-haired princess through the flames towards Snow White; it was no bother to her if the little chit got burned.

“Did you locate the portal jumper?” Cora asked through Aurora’s heart.

Snow sighed. “Yes, but he hasn’t been much help. We’re not even sure who has his hat. Both he and Regina say the other has it. Henry believes Regina; David and Emma believe Jefferson.” 

_Hm._ “And who do you believe?”

“I don’t know. I want to believe that Regina can change for Henry, but I’ve given her so many chances.” _Interesting._ “In any case, please tell Lancelot that it may be some time before we can send our party.”

“I will.” Cora was annoyed; she was unwilling to simply wait for the Hatter to capitulate to Snow’s demand. She knew quite well that Snow would not force him, and without that, the Hatter was unlikely to budge. She had options (she could fake an ogre attack and beg for Snow’s help, for example), but she also had other cards to play. “Perhaps there is another way. What can you tell me about the curse? How was it that Emma was spared?”

Snow told her everything.

_Aha._

It was time to take her pirate on a little trip.

XxXxXxX

“Just why are we here?” Hook asked. They were in the ruins of Snow White’s castle, carefully picking their way through the debris. Out of habit, he kept an eye out for anything valuable, but he wasn’t expecting to find much of anything. Knowing Cora, they had to be here for magic, but he couldn’t imagine what magic they would find here that they wouldn’t find at Regina’s palace or the Dark Castle (a destination Hook had wanted to visit but Cora had vetoed; “It won’t do to get distracted,” she had said).

“We are looking for a magical wardrobe,” she explained, regally lifting her skirts over the dust and broken stones. “We should start with the royal chambers.”

“And what does it do? Not repel moths, I’m guessing.”

She chuckled. “You guess correctly. It is a portal to the world where both my daughter and your crocodile are currently residing.”

“Then why send that ogre to distract the village? Afraid they’ll follow us?”

“No, no. According to dear, sweet Snow, this portal supposedly had a limit that has already been reached. We may need a few things before we can use it; the village may prove useful yet.”

“I see. And what of the crocodile? Wreaking havoc in this new world, I should imagine.”

She laughed. “Oh, no. It appears dear Rumple has found both his son and his ‘true love’ and has reformed. Or, at least, that’s what he wants Snow White to think.”

Hook frowned. “He found Baelfire? I thought the lad was in Neverland.”

“Indeed. The curse took him from there; apparently, my daughter sent it after that little, green fairy and it took the boy instead. Rumple’s doing, I’m sure.”

From the Dark One to Neverland and back again - Milah’s son had not been fortunate. _No matter, once I kill the Dark One, Baelfire will be free_. It was the least he owed him, after what had happened.

“And this ‘true love’? Not that maid Regina captured?”

“The same. Belle of Avonlea,” she said mockingly. “They’re apparently disgustingly in love.”

Hook laughed. “And they all believe it?”

Cora smirked. “Dear Snow did always see what she wanted to see, and she so does love a happy ending.”

Hook shook his head. _I’ll be doing them a favor taking out the crocodile_ , although that wasn’t why he was in this business. But there were some people so evil that even scoundrels knew they had to be killed, and the Dark One was most certainly one such person.

“One thing you should know,” Cora continued, “This town, Storybrooke, has magic now. You might find it harder to skin your crocodile than you originally planned.”

Hook frowned. “Regina told me that the curse took them to a world without magic.”

“She was apparently misinformed, as were the rest of us. There was some magic there, and Rumple arranged to bring more. His powers aren’t quite what they were, but they are close. Regina has her powers too,” she said with a smile. Hook knew Cora didn’t think Regina was ‘complete’ (Cora’s word, not his) without her powers. It was a bit obsessive if you asked Hook, but, of course, no one had.

“Thanks for the warning.”

“You’re quite welcome. Don’t you fret; you’ll get your crocodile if you do exactly what I say.” Hook wasn’t exactly good at taking orders, but he could tolerate it as long as it served his purposes. As soon as the Dark One was dead, he could find his crew and they could leave Cora and this entire messy business behind.

“Aha,” Cora said as they reached a room that looked like it might have been a nursery once. There was a rather impressive wardrobe standing off to the side. It appeared to be carved out of a single piece of trunk, two small doors the only parts that looked truly finished. A princess would surely have more delicately carved furniture; it had to be the portal Cora spoke of.

“Hmm…” Cora hummed to herself as she ran her hands over it. “There is still magic here, but Snow was right; not enough to get even one of us there on its own.”

“So what’s the next step?”

“This.” She waved her hand, and the wardrobe caught fire.

“Bloody Hell! What are you doing?”

“Come now, Captain; calm yourself. The ash from this wardrobe is the first thing we need to get to Storybrooke. Have I ever led you astray?”

“Not yet.”

She just smiled. “Precisely. Have a little patience; you’ll skin your crocodile soon enough.”

“If you say so,” he grumbled.

“I do.”

_I hope you’re counting the days, Crocodile; you haven’t got many left._


	16. Sounds Like Something Breaking

If Henry hadn’t earned Rumplestiltskin’s goodwill before, he certainly had now. Avengers had finally come to the tiny, second-run theater in Storybrooke (two screens, and it was only open Thursday through Saturday), and he’d not only invited Bae to join him, (along with the rest of the Charmings, the cricket, the puppet, and the woodcarver), but when Bae had accepted, Henry had simply taken it as a matter of course that Belle and Rumplestiltskin would be coming too. 

While Bae was still stubbornly refusing Rumplestiltskin’s (or Belle’s) attempts to arrange any discussion between the two of them related to anything other than Pan or schoolwork, he’d been unable to rebuff Henry’s well-meaning invitation. Rumplestiltskin didn’t give a damn about Bae’s superheroes, but it was a chance for the three of them to share something other than tense, awkward meals and worries about Pan.

And Rumplestiltskin was not the only one who looked out of place. Geppetto was looking decidedly lost as his son, Bae, and Henry attempted to explain the details of the five preceding movies while they waited for the film to start. 

Emma came to his rescue. “You don’t need to know all this stuff; if the movie is any good, it will make sense without the others.”

“Well… yeah,” the puppet said, looking deflated.

Geppetto patted his son’s hand (the human one). “I’m sure it will be fine, Pinocchio.” 

Emma shook her head. “I can’t get over him calling you that. How did you even get August Wayne Booth out of Pinocchio, anyway? They aren’t even the same nationality.”

“No, they aren’t. I, ah, got it out of a Justice League comic actually,” the puppet said sheepishly.

Everyone stared. “Justice League… wait, _Bruce Wayne_?” Emma asked incredulously.

“Er, yeah.” The puppet blushed and looked away.

“And who’s Booth?”

“No one. Where does Clark Kent change into Superman?”

“A telephone booth!” Henry said excitedly.

“Yeah.” He looked at the ground. “I thought it was a magical chamber that gave him his powers. I thought it would be a good omen.” His tone was ironic. Geppetto looked at him sadly and put a hand on his shoulder. The puppet smiled weakly.

“And August; what’s that?” Snow White asked.

“The month it was published.”

“That’s so cool!” Henry said.

“If you say so,” the puppet said. “Look, the trailers are starting.” He was obviously grateful for the distraction, and Emma continued to look at him strangely, even as the lights went down.

It was an interesting bit of information, even if Rumplestiltskin saw no immediate use for it. What really attracted his notice was how the puppet shifted under the scrutiny, and his tone as he explained about the phone booth. He’d obviously exposed more vulnerability than he had originally intended, and few things drew the Dark One’s attention like vulnerability.

In truth, Rumplestiltskin was well aware that life had not been kind to the puppet after he’d been sent through the wardrobe, and that he harbored a fair bit of resentment for that. But he also knew that none of it was directed towards his father, only Reul Ghorm. That fact had already proved useful, and Rumplestiltskin had no doubt it would again.

Rumplestiltskin was not envious that the puppet held his father blameless even after assigning him an impossible task just to assuage his own guilt. He wasn’t.

He focused on the movie. Well, no, he focused on Bae and Belle focusing on the movie. Bae was rapt. Belle must have noticed Rumplestiltskin staring, because she looked at him and smiled. He smiled back, kissing her hand.

On the screen, a portal opened.

XxXxXxX

“Wait, don’t get up yet!” August said. “There’s a second end-credit scene.” Bae nodded; August had already told him that.

Halfway out of her seat, Emma asked, “Really? Why would they do that?”

“To make sure that every fan sits thought the entire credits for every Marvel movie from now on, even if they put the end-credit scene at the beginning or the middle,” August replied, nodding authoritatively. “All those special effects guys need their five seconds of fame.”

Henry laughed. Bae smiled faintly. He was still considering the Hulk. 

_He learned to control it._

_What would it be like, if Bruce became the Hulk and never changed back? How many people would he kill? Would he ever learn to control it?_

It wasn’t the same as the curse of the Dark One; Bae knew that. It wasn’t even real, but Bae couldn’t help but wonder.

The promised second scene appeared.

_What is shawarma, anyway?_

XxXxXxX

Cora couldn’t decide whether Mulan or Phillip should accompany Hook to the giants’ keep, so she brandished the princess’ heart. The prince flinched first.

“You,” she told the warrior woman, “You go with him. And you,” she told the prince, “You’re going to wait very quietly until they get back. Try to take this heart from me, and I will crush it. Do you need a further demonstration?” she asked, squeezing it again. The princess gasped in pain.

“No, don’t! I will do as you say,” he said, “Mulan, accompany Hook and bring back that compass.”

“As you command.”

“No, as I command,” Cora reminded her. She’d already reduced the prince to a timid, whimpering fool. The warrior woman was more stoic, but no less devoted. They would both do exactly as she said.

_Didn’t anyone ever warn you, foolish children? Love is weakness._

XxXxXxX

“Good night, Bae.”

“Good night, Papa, Belle.”

“I… love you.”

Bae paused. “I know.” He walked away.

XxXxXxX

“What are you doing?” Mulan demanded of Hook. “We have the compass, and the giant is incapacitated. The powder will not last indefinitely; let’s go.” Indeed, she had no idea how long her sleeping powder would last on something the size of the giant. She’d used all she had to ensure their escape (she knew that the cage they’d trapped him in would not hold him for long), and they needed to be far enough down the beanstalk to be able to chop it down if he woke and came after them.

“Just one more thing, love.” Mulan remained impassive, but sneered internally. She did not like the pirate or his mocking words, but she would endure his presence as long as she needed to to ensure that Phillip and Aurora were safe.

The pirate walked up to the pouch that had contained the compass and took the dead bean the giant had told them of. “You rob an opponent of his talisman while he lays unable to defend himself?” she asked. “You have no honor.”

The pirate scoffed. “Killing Rumplestiltskin is the only honor I need, love.”

Mulan frowned, but the pirate was not her priority, and she knew that her words would be wasted on him anyway. She was lucky he had not insisted on killing the giant. Allowing a defenseless opponent to be killed was contrary to her honor, but Hook was Cora’s right hand, and she could not challenge him without risking Aurora and Phillip.

On their way out, the pirate helped himself to a few more of the giant’s treasures, but not enough to slow them down. He was clearly an opportunist in every sense, but he was at least capable of staying on task. Cora would tolerate nothing less.

As with their climb up the beanstalk, Hook insisted on talking to her all the way through their climb down. She ignored him. “You know, love, a man might get the impression that you weren’t interested,” he finally said.

“I am interested only in protecting Aurora and Phillip,” she said simply.

“Aurora and Phillip, or just Aurora? Don’t think I didn’t notice how you look at the princess, lass.”

Mulan refused to look at him. He was not wrong about her feelings for Aurora, and that alarmed her. But he was wrong about her feelings towards Phillip, and that gave her an advantage. _Of course he would not understand the ties of friendship; he thinks women are only good for sex._ She said nothing.

Cora smiled as they reached the ground. “I trust you got it?”

Hook pulled out the compass and showed it to her. “Right here.”

“Excellent. What of the giant?”

“We knocked him out, but he’s still alive. He was carrying an awfully interesting keepsake, too.” He took out the dead bean and showed it to her. “A reminder humans can’t be trusted, he said. Thought it might be useful.”

Cora put out a hand, and Hook handed it over with only the barest hesitation. She scrutinized it, then smiled. “You thought correctly, Captain. Well done.”

“You have your compass,” Aurora said, “Let us return to the village.”

Mulan was proud of her, even as she cursed her for provoking Cora.

“Not yet; you’re still useful to me. This bean changes things.” She flicked her fingers and a small scroll appeared in her hand. She handed it to the pirate. “Hook, darling, take them here while I go retrieve a few things. And remember, in case any of you get any ideas, I still have the princess’ heart. I can and will crush it if you give the good Captain here any trouble. But do as you’re told, and the three of you will get out of this alive. Am I understood?”

“Yes,” Phillip said quickly. Mulan simply nodded, and Aurora did the same, glaring fiercely.

The witch disappeared in swirl of dark red smoke, and Hook glanced at the scroll Cora had given him. He grinned. “Well, this should be interesting. Come along, then; we’re heading east.”

They started walking.

XxXxXxX

They were finally beginning work on the new children’s room for the library. Ten minutes in and it was abundantly clear that Nova was downright dangerous in a construction zone. August felt bad bout it, but there was no denying that Nova simply had to be kept away from tools of any kind, for everyone’s safety.

“I just wanted to help,” she said dejectedly.

_You can help by staying out of the way._ But that would be an asshole thing to say; it wasn’t Nova’s fault she was unbearably clumsy. What she needed was a job to do that would play to her strengths, while letting the rest of them get on with moving bookcases, painting walls and patching floors. Unfortunately, August was at a loss as to what that might be.

Belle to the rescue. “Why don’t you start planning the grand opening? We’re going to need advertising and refreshments, and I’d like to do a great big display in the lobby with that bulletin board we found in the office, and spotlight some of the books too.”

Nova perked right up. “Oh! I can do that!”

And that was how Nova became their PR person. And she was really quite good at it. She actually ventured out into the town to talk to people face-to-face, a tactic that had not occurred to the more introverted Belle. And she was getting people honestly excited for the opening, which August would never have been able to pull off. In addition to his little wood problem (which had neither worsened nor improved since that first Council meeting), he’d spent so much time around sleaze that no one would ever believe he was inviting them to a public library unless it also had an illegal card game going on in the basement.

He was half-tempted to go the Rabbit Hole and imply that there actually would be an illegal card game just to see if anyone would show up. And if they did, he’d greet them with a bunch of Magic: The Gathering cards. Knowing the patrons of the Rabbit Hole, they’d probably place bets anyway. Hell, August would too. _Probably not a good idea, then._ August shook his head and went back to unscrewing a bookcase from the floor so they could move it.

XxXxXxX

Aurora was cold. They’d spent two days in an underground cell that had once held the Dark One. Even with Phillip there to hold her, the damp soaked into her dress and chilled her all the way through.

Hook at least fed them and had procured a bucket from somewhere - although using it while he was there was out of the question. It was bad enough in front of Phillip and Mulan.

“We have to get out of here,” Aurora said in a low voice while the pirate was out getting food ( _and probably a breath of fresh air_ ).

“That witch still has your heart,” Phillip said. “I won’t risk it.”

“Don’t you see? She’s never going to let us go. She’ll use us until she kills us; we can’t just sit here and wait to die.”

“I agree with Aurora,” Mulan said quietly. “The pirate has no honor, and the witch even less; she will not let us go as promised.”

“Thank you,” Aurora said.

Phillip just shook his head. “Not as long as she has your heart. I will not lose you, Aurora; don’t ask me to.”

“And don’t ask me to watch you die because of me. You can escape, even if I cannot; I am the reason the two of you are in danger.”

“No,” Phillip said, “You are the reason I fought for all these years instead of succumbing to despair; without you, I’d have been dead already.”

“Phillip…”

“Our way is clear, then,” Mulan said. “We don’t escape; we take back Aurora’s heart. If the witch kills us, we will have at least died fighting.”

Aurora bit her lip. She didn’t see any chance of them living through a confrontation with Cora, but perhaps they could bring her down with them - or Hook, at the very least. “Agreed,” she said.

Phillip sighed, resting his hand where his sword should have been. “Agreed. But how?”

“We do have the page,” Aurora said. They’d found it hidden in the back of the cell, a rough sheet of paper with the Savior’s name written over and over. It had to have been Rumplestiltskin’s work, which meant it could very well be magical. But how, they didn’t know. They’d tried reciting the name Emma the number of times it was written on the page, but that had done nothing. They’d tried looking for hidden messages but found none.

“If he follows his pattern, Hook will be gone for well over an hour,” Mulan said. “Let us look at it again.”

“I wish we had some way to start a fire,” Phillip said as he retrieved the page, “If there is a hidden message, fire could be the key.”

“Or moonlight,” Mulan suggested, “I’ve heard of messages revealed by moonlight.”

“Or lemon juice,” Aurora offered wryly. “Any number of things could be the key.”

“We need to think like the Dark One,” Mulan said, “This is his work.”

“Blood,” Phillip said immediately. 

“We can actually try that one,” Aurora said. “Find something sharp.”

Mulan instead went for something blunt; she punched the wall hard enough to make her knuckles bleed. Her blood had no effect on the paper. 

“Damn,” Aurora said.

“Tut, tut,” Cora scolded, appearing in her cloud of red smoke. “Such language from a princess. I’ll take that paper from you now.”

“The paper for Aurora’s heart,” Mulan said immediately. Cora just laughed.

“I admire your spirit, dear, but I hold all the cards here.” She took out Aurora’s heart and spoke into it. “Bring me the paper.”

Like a marionette, Aurora’s limbs jerked to life without her consent. She recognized the feeling now, and knew that Cora had ordered her through the flames of the netherworld just like this. She tried to fight, but there was nothing she could do. She grabbed the paper from Phillip with such strength that she tore it in two. Helplessly, she grabbed for the second part.

Cora sighed and squeezed her heart. Aurora nearly fell to her knees from the pain. “Give her the other half,” she told Phillip, as he called her name and reached for her.

He’d dropped it in his haste, and Mulan instead picked it up and brought it to Cora. “Here,” she said defiantly, handing it to Cora through the bars. Once she could move, Aurora turned to bring her the other half.

Cora grabbed the page Mulan held, Aurora’s heart still in her left hand. Suddenly, Cora stood frozen, surrounded by an aura of bluish light. “Squid ink,” she growled. “Damn you, Rumple.”

“Squid ink!” Mulan exclaimed, “I know of that; Belle told me about it from her book of magical beasts.” She grabbed the page from Aurora. “Perhaps…” She rubbed the page against one of the bars. The bar dissolved. Two more and they had a gap large enough to squeeze through. Mulan grabbed the heart from Cora and they ran.

XxXxXxX

“How have things been with your father this week?” Archie asked.

Bae sighed. “He’s trying.”

“You don’t sound encouraged.”

“He’s trying too hard.”

“How so?”

“He keeps trying to talk to me. Every night he says he loves me, and I wish he would just stop.”

“Why do you wish that?”

“Because it’s too much. I need…”

“What do you need?”

“Space. I need to think, and I can’t when he’s right there all the time.”

“Bae, I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to really think it through before you answer, all right?”

“OK.”

“How you do you think you would feel if he wasn’t trying to talk to you, if he didn’t say he loves you?”

_Damn._ “I’d think… I don’t know. I’d think that he doesn’t care.”

“It’s been three months since the curse broke. Do you really feel that it’s more time that you need?”

“I guess… I don’t know. What do you think?”

“I think the both of you need to talk about this.”

“But how? I don’t… I don’t know what to say. And he won’t… what if he doesn’t listen?”

“I think he will. But of he doesn’t, then you will have at least said your piece. That alone can be very important.”

“But how? I can’t… it’s too hard.”

“Do you think it would help if I were there to mediate? He can come to you next session, and you can tell him what you have to say. Or we can set up a different time.”

“I don’t know if he’ll do that; he won’t want you to know certain things.”

“That may be true, but do you think you can at least ask him if he is willing?”

“Yeah.”

XxXxXxX

“Bugger,” Hook said, after Cora had filled him in on their prisoners’ escape.

“Language, Captain,” Cora scolded. “They’d outlived their usefulness, anyway. My preparations were a success, and we are ready to depart for Storybrooke immediately.”

“You’re not going to kill them first?”

“I just came from the village. If they manage to survive the ogres and the horde of undead, I’ll just hunt them down when we get back. Regina can join me,” she said with a smile. “Now, I thought you were impatient to skin your crocodile?”

“I am. How are we travelling?”

Cora smiled, and they appeared on the deck of the Jolly Roger, Cora’s red smoke marking their arrival. “Why, on your ship, of course.”

Hook grinned. “Then it will be a more comfortable journey than I anticipated. Did you use the enchantment from the wardrobe?” He wasn’t worried about his ship; after Pan’s spells, some magic from an old wardrobe couldn’t possibly hurt her.

“No, the bean you gave me proved to be an even better solution.” She showed it to him, now alive and clear. “I trust your ship is up for the journey?”

“She’s done it before. Are we ready to set sail?”

“We are, Captain.”

XxXxXxX

August and his father exchanged worried glances; Jiminy was late. August called him. “He’s not picking up.” 

“This is not like him.”

“I know.” Jiminy was never late for anything. And if he had been delayed somehow, he would have called. “We should go over there.”

“Yes,” Papa said, grabbing his hat.

“Should we call Emma?” August asked as he pulled on his jacket and gloves (there were now a few people he was willing to show his wooden hand to, but certainly not the greater population of Storybrooke).

Papa frowned. “Only if he is not there. He would not want us to bother her if nothing is wrong.”

August nodded. After Jiminy got his heart back, Papa had been a wee bit smothering. August, he was embarrassed to admit, had aided and abetted until Jiminy told them both to back off (not in so many words of course; Jiminy was more polite than that). He really wouldn’t appreciate them bringing in the cavalry over something inconsequential. But something told August this was not inconsequential.

To his utter horror, he was right.

They found Jiminy dead in his office. Papa dropped to his knees, crying. Pongo whined and walked over to him, rubbing his head against his arm. August could only stare. For all he’d lived through the end of the Evil Queen’s war, and traveled to many places with questionable law enforcement, the Dragon was the first (and before now, only) dead body August had ever seen.

And now Jiminy. He couldn’t process it. He blinked dazedly as Papa tearfully told him to call Emma. Robotically, he did.

“August?”

“Emma.” He paused.

“Yeah, it’s me. Is something wrong?”

He took a shuddering breath. “Jiminy’s dead.”

“What?”

“Jiminy’s dead. We’re… we’re at his office. He’s just…”

“You and your dad?”

“Yes.”

“OK, I want you both the head towards the loft-”

“Papa won’t leave him.”

“August, you know who did this. I won’t risk Regina coming back before we get there. Get your dad, and head to towards the loft; this place has blood wards on it that Gold says will keep Regina out.”

“No, we can’t.” He knew Papa would never leave him, and Jiminy deserved better. 

Emma sighed. “Fine. I’ll call an ambulance just to be sure, and David and I will be there in five. But if Regina shows up… call Gold.”

August nodded. “I will.”

“I’m sorry, August.”

“Me too.”

XxXxXxX

Emma went into the other room to call the ambulance; she didn’t want Henry overhearing its destination.

“What’s wrong?” Mary Margaret asked when she got back. Henry leaned forward, listening. _How in the hell am I supposed to explain this?_ And she had no time to do it now; Regina could come back for Marco and August any moment, or even the ambulance crew.

“David, come with me. Mary Margaret, stay here with Henry, and don’t leave for any reason until I call you.”

“What’s wrong?” Henry asked, “What did Mom do?”

“Henry-”

“Mom, please…” It wasn’t the first time he’d called her that, but it was the first time he’d done it without thinking. She couldn’t hide this from him; he deserved a mother he could trust.

“Marco and August just found Archie in his office. Henry, I’m sorry… he’s dead.”

If she thought Regina had broken his heart before, it was nothing compared to this. _I’m going to kill you, you bitch._ “Are… are you sure? How do you know Mom did it?”

“I’ve called an ambulance, and David and I need to get there right away-”

“And you’re going to investigate, right? You don’t know she did it; it might have been someone else!”

“Henry…”

“No, you can’t… she was doing better. She wouldn’t do this! You have to make sure!” He was crying now. Mary Margaret put her arms around him.

Emma didn’t know what to do. “Yes, Henry,” David said, “We will investigate.”

“Yeah. Innocent until proven guilty, kid.” And this time, she would get the proof.

They got there just as the ambulance did. There was nothing the paramedics could do. August looked dazed, his right arm around a crying Marco. Pongo was whining and looking around confused. Emma herded them all into the hallway. There was nowhere to sit, but she had to get them away from the body.

“Come on, Papa,” August said quietly, walking them out. “Let them do their jobs.” Marco nodded, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. 

“Did you see anything as you came in?” Emma asked. She wasn’t good with comforting people; all she could do was get right down to business.

August shook his head. “Nothing unusual. Jiminy was late for dinner, so we came over to check on him. We found him. I called you. That’s all.” Marco nodded.

“Yes. Nothing unusual. But you know who did this, yes? It was the Queen.”

“We think so too, but we need to follow every lead. If it wasn’t her, it would mean that the real murderer would still be out there.”

“But who other than Regina would go after Jiminy? Gold has no motive,” August said, “Jiminy was helping fix his relationship with Baelfire.” 

_That’s right. And if Bae reacts like Henry did, Gold might just go ahead and kill her. And that doesn’t bother me as much as it should._

“Like I said, I do think it was her, but we need to have all our ducks in a row.” 

“What do you want us to do?” August asked.

Emma sighed. “Go home. Keep your phone on; I’ll call you if I need anything else.”

“OK.”

“Thank you,” Marco said, clasping her hand in both of his. “You will get justice for him.”

“Yeah, I will.”

_Whatever it takes._

XxXxXxX

“Sherriff Swan, Deputy Nolan, what a pleasant surprise.” From Charming’s grim expression and Emma’s mulish one, Rumplestiltskin knew that this conversation would be interesting. _My, my, what did Regina do now?_

“We need your help,” Charming said bluntly.

“With what?” he asked teasingly. 

“Rumple,” Belle scolded, “Invite them in. Would you like some tea?” she asked them.

Emma shook her head sharply, and Charming answered, “No, thank you. Can we come in?”

“By all means.” He stepped back, ushering them in with a wave of his hand.

“We should go to your study,” Emma said. Then she leaned close and murmured, “Bae shouldn’t hear this.”

Bae was standing in the doorway to the dining room, watching them. Rumplestiltskin frowned. “As you say.” He did not trust the Savior’s judgment in all things, but he did trust her in this. _Regina must have hurt someone he cares about. The fallen fairy? The puppet? She’ll pay for that._

“What’s wrong?” Bae asked as they entered the hallway.

“Your dad will explain it after we talk to him, kid,” Emma said, her voice hard. Rumplestiltskin frowned deeper. _If Regina has involved Bae in her little schemes, I_ will _kill her._

“Can I help?” Belle asked, looking as concerned as Bae.

“No, it’s, ah, a magic thing,” Emma said. Belle and Bae exchanged glances.

“Why don’t you make some coffee, sweetheart?” Rumplestiltskin suggested, “I have a feeling this will not be an early night.”

Emma nodded and looked briefly at Charming. “Yeah.”

“All right,” Belle said. “Why don’t you help me, Bae?”

“Sure,” he said flatly. 

“Shall we?” Rumplestiltskin asked impatiently, hurrying Emma and Charming into his study. This production was upsetting Bae and he would not have that.

“What did Regina do now?” he demanded, as soon as the door was closed.

“She killed Archie,” Emma said bluntly.

_Damn._

“And you want my help apprehending her?”

“And containing her.” Charming said as Emma frowned. _Ah, his idea then._ “What’s your price?”

“That depends on how you want to contain her. If you want me to turn her into a snail, I’ll do that for free. Of course, as powerful as she is, it might not hold for long.” 

“What would?”

“Well, I could summon a wraith to collect her soul…”

“We were thinking more like a cell,” Charming said.

“Hm. Not exactly my specialty.”

“Are you saying you can’t do it?” Emma asked.

“Of course I can, but it will take some time. And materials.”

“How much time and which materials?”

“Well, if you want something truly secure, I could carve something out in the mines, but that could take a couple of days; wouldn’t want to cause a collapse, after all. As for materials: fairy dust. And for my payment, I’ll take some of the same.”

Emma and Charming exchanged a glance. “What do you want it for?” Charming asked.

“A rainy day,” he said with a smile.

Emma sighed. “You know, you could be less of an asshole considering she killed your kid’s friend.”

Rumplestiltskin sighed. “I offered you an alternative; you didn’t want it. What you are asking for is greater magic than I think you realize. And, in case you have forgotten, Regina is not the only threat I have to deal with.”

“The Shadow?”

“Yes. And Reul Ghorm, if you’ll recall. And the curse on the town line. I have a great deal to do; if you want me to divert my attention towards Regina, you will compensate me for my time.”

Emma glared at David. “I told you that I should be the one handling this.”

“Emma, you don’t know what you’re up against-”

“Yes, I do. A murderer.”

“She has magic.”

“So do I.”

“Ah, but have you been practicing?” Rumplestiltskin asked. 

She crossed her arms. “Some.”

“Well, that’s something, then. Do you know what to do if she, say, uses a freezing spell on your father? Or disappears as soon as you approach her?”

Emma huffed. “OK, fine. But what do we do in the meantime? We can’t just let her walk around free.”

“Yes, you can, unless you truly do want me to turn her into a snail.”

“No snails; I could never explain that to Henry. And don’t tell me Bae would like it either.” _Point._

“We gather evidence,” Charming said, “That is what you promised Henry. August and Marco didn’t see anything, but someone else might have.”

“In which case they might actually be in danger from her,” Rumplestiltskin pointed out.

“That’s right,” Emma growled. “We don’t have a few days, David; we need to bring her in tonight. You said you needed a few days for the ‘secure’ cell, but what about a temporary one? If it’s the fairy dust that does it, could you use it on one of the cells in the Sheriff’s station?”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “Not the right structure at all; form matters in spell craft. Now, a set of manacles from our world; that, I could do. It wouldn’t be permanent, but I could make it last a few days until I can build your little cell.”

“And of course you’ve got a set lying around here somewhere?”

“At my shop, yes.”

“Fine. Get ‘em. We’ll get the dust. The Blue Fairy says she wants to help? This is her chance.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “As long as she does not insist on having a hand in the enchantments; after the affair with the potion…”

“Of course. Considering she’s the one who told Regina how to bring the magic here, I’d say she’s partially responsible for this.”

Charming nodded grimly. Rumplestiltskin smiled internally. _How much further can you fall, Reul Ghorm?_

There was a knock on the study door. “The coffee is ready,” Belle announced though the door.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Rumplestiltskin said automatically. “Have some, won’t you?” he offered to his guests.

“This your way of saying you want us there when you explain this to Bae?” It wasn’t for his benefit that Emma asked this, and he appreciated that.

“He may have questions.”

Emma exchanged a glance with Charming, then nodded. “Fine, then.”

_Bae is not going to take this well._


	17. Traps

“I should have let you kill her,” Bae told his father, his voice hollow.

“Bae, no!” Belle objected. Archie had been her friend and confidant too, but killing Regina could set Rumple back on a path of darkness; she would _not_ allow that to happen.

“No, kid,” Emma said, “None of this is your fault; this is all on Regina.”

“Archie would still be alive if I’d just let you kill her,” Bae said, tears in his eyes.

“Bae, no,” Rumple said, features wrinkled in concern. “This was not your doing.”

“Killing Regina would have been wrong,” Belle said earnestly. “We couldn’t know that she would do this-”

“She took his heart; what more warning did we need!”

“Baelfire, listen,” David said. “Belle is right. Snow and I, we showed Regina mercy once too. And then she cast the curse. And as bad as that was, I don’t regret that we didn’t kill her because if we had we would have become like her. Never regret that you stood up for the right thing; Archie wouldn’t want you too.”

David didn’t notice the grateful look Rumple gave him, but Belle could see that Emma did. Rumple reached out for Baelfire, but he pulled away, retreating to the kitchen table, his arms crossed tightly in some manner of self-comfort. The worry lines on Rumple’s brow only deepened, but he did not go after him. Belle did. She rubbed Bae’s back lightly, and he didn’t pull away.

“We need to go get some fairy dust to help lock her up,” Emma said, “We’ll be back in a little while. You gonna be OK here, kid?”

He looked at her, his eyes weary. He nodded slightly. 

_You have much to answer for, Regina. Rumple will see to it that you do._

XxXxXxX

Blue was open to giving them fairy dust to imprison Regina with - until she realized that Rumplestiltskin would be the one casting the spells.

“Absolutely not. _I_ will help you capture Regina.”

“Considering you’re the reason she was able to bring magic here, magic she has now used to murder someone, no, you won’t,” Emma said.

“I will not allow fairy magic to fall into the hands of the Dark One.”

“But telling him about curses that destroy worlds, that’s all right?” Emma challenged.

Blue huffed and looked at David. He shrugged. “She has a point.”

“Come on; she won’t help us,” Emma said, “I have a better idea.”

“I warn you; you must not trust the Dark One, Emma. His magic will destroy us all if you allow it to.”

“Like you did?” 

Blue frowned and said nothing. They left and headed to the library. When they got to Nova’s apartment, she and Leroy were finishing up the March of the Penguins. 

“What?” Leroy asked. “It won an Oscar. And Nova hadn’t seen it. Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” David said.

“We’ve, ah, got some bad news,” Emma said.

Grumpy tensed immediately. “Regina do something?”

“Yeah.” Emma sighed. “She killed Archie.”

“Oh, no!” Nova said, horrified.

“Damn. You need my help to bring her in? I can call the guys,” Grumpy offered.

“What we actually need is fairy dust. Gold said he can rig up a cell and pair of manacles that can hold her, but he needs the dust. Mother Superior refuses to share; we need yours, Nova, and we’re probably going to need some of what’s down in the mines.”

“Yes, of course,” Nova said. “I haven’t used much of it.”

“Yeah, count us in,” Leroy said. “It’s about time we found a way to lock her up. You need us to help with the cell? Blue had us dwarves build the one she enchanted for Rumplestiltskin.”

“Might be a good idea for you to look it over; I think he’s going to use magic to actually build it though,” Emma said. “We need this ASAP.”

Grumpy scoffed, “You have any idea how fast a dwarf can work, sister?”

XxXxXxX

As they waited for Emma and Charming to return with the dust, Rumplestiltskin cursed himself. _I should have killed her. I could have found a way._ He hadn’t realized how attached Bae had been to the cricket; this had hurt him deeply. He would not let it stand. _You must kill her. She’ll never stop until everyone you love is dead._

“Don’t kill her,” Belle said quietly. Bae was in his room; he’d asked to be left alone.

“Belle…”

“Imprison her, yes, but don’t kill her, Rumple. You’ve come so far; don’t let that woman drag you back down.”

“She deserves to die.”

“I won’t say she doesn’t, but you don’t deserve to have your second chance ruined by her. Please, don’t kill her.”

He didn’t agree with the point she was making, but her concern warmed him. And chilled him - _doesn’t she realize the things I have already done?_ He’d never really thought that she did, despite all his posturing at the Dark Castle (indeed, that had been the point of that whole production with Robin Hood; if he’d actually been out to torture the man, he would certainly not have been in any shape to run away). He honestly didn’t know how long this could last until she finally realized exactly what kind of monster he was, but he would take what he could.

He embraced her. “I love you.”

He could feel her smile. “I love you too.” He made no promises. He knew he might have to kill Regina (had always known that, in fact) and Rumplestiltskin did not break his word.

Emma and Charming returned more quickly than he anticipated. “I’d have expected Reul Ghorm to be less cooperative than this,” Rumplestiltskin said.

“She was,” Emma said, “This is Nova’s dust. And Leroy and his brothers will refine some from the mines to use for the cell if you need it.”

“I do. But this will suffice for the manacles.” _And don’t you forget my payment, dearie._

“He thinks the dwarves can help build the cell too; they apparently built the one you were in.” 

“By all means.”

Emma paused. “Really?”

“Yes. They know the form needed, and as I said, I do have other things to do.”

“Well, all right then. How much time do you need for the manacles?”

“An hour or so.” He summoned them from the shop, then extended his hand for the dust. She didn’t pause before handing it over. 

Belle offered Emma and Charming refreshments while they waited, but Emma was unwilling to sit idle. “Thanks, but I was going to knock on some doors, see if we could find any witnesses. Call us when they’re ready, Gold?”

“Certainly.”

Her search proved fruitful. 

“Ashley and Sean saw Regina going into Archie’s office on their way to the diner,” Emma told him when he called.

“Very good. You’re ready to make the arrest?”

“As soon as you get here with those manacles.”

“And how were you planning to get them on her?”

“However I need to. I take it you have a plan?”

“I do.”

Regina hollered most amusingly when he appeared directly behind her without warning and snapped the manacles around her wrists. She’d been thoroughly distracted by her confrontation with Emma. _So predictable, Regina._ “What do you think you’re doing!?” she demanded.

“Manacles enchanted with fairy dust,” he explained calmly, smirking. “You didn’t think Sherriff Swan was planning to use her standard issue cuffs on you, did you?”

“I knew it! This is all your doing! He killed the cricket!” she shouted. 

“What?” Emma asked, disbelieving, “Why would he do that?”

“To get rid of me! I’m the only one in this damn town who’s been keeping an eye on him! Think about it, Swan! If I had killed Archie, you’d never know-”

“Oh, we figured out your little heart trick just fine.”

“ _You_ didn’t; Rumple did. He’s leading you around by the nose! I am the only one in whole damn town who hasn’t bought into his little redemption act! With me out of the way, there will be no one left to protect Henry from him!”

“For the last damn time, Regina, _Pan_ is the one after Henry. What would Gold even want with him?”

“Any number of things! He’s the Dark One; he doesn’t need a reason!”

Rumplestiltskin sighed. “I’d have thought you’d have learned by now, Regina - I do nothing without a reason.”

“Neither do I! Why would I do this? Why now?”

“I don’t know,” Emma said, “How about the same reason you took his heart? You asked him to arrange meetings with Henry and he said ‘no’?”

“No! I hadn’t seen the bug in weeks! I didn’t do this! You can’t… you can’t let Henry think I did!”

Emma stared at her, her expression grim. Then she grabbed her by the arm and started walking her towards the squad car. “Regina Mills, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney…”

XxXxXxX

Emma didn’t know what was wrong. Everything pointed to Regina. So why was her superpower telling her that Regina was telling the truth? She’d been practicing with it every night since that first session with Nova, and even if she hadn’t been, it was only ever wrong when she was expecting a certain answer, or wasn’t ready for the truth (like with August). But this time, she knew that if Regina claimed she hadn’t done it, it would be a lie; so why was her power telling her it wasn’t?

And the thing was, her power was telling her Gold was telling the truth too. Regina was pointing the finger at him, but he’d been just as genuinely surprised to hear that Archie was dead. So if neither Regina nor Gold had done it, who was left?

Emma rubbed her temples. _I have to be imagining this. It was Regina; of course it was Regina._

_What if it wasn’t?_

“Hey, Gold,” she said, just as he turned to go.

“Yes?”

“You know that magic sensing thing you tried to do when Belle went missing?”

“Yes.”

“Could you try that at the crime scene? Regina’s got some kind of magical signature, right? Just for that extra piece of evidence?”

He shook his head. “It’s been too long. But if it is more evidence you need, there is one witness you haven’t spoken to yet.”

“Who?”

“The one who was actually there.”

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin was a dog person. _Who knew?_ Well, Bae probably knew, August supposed, but it had certainly been a surprise to him. Or maybe not. August had spent enough time around the Gold clan to know by now that Belle was right about one thing: Rumplestiltskin really did want to be loved. It was hard to do better than a dog for unconditional love. And they were easy to command; August also knew by now that Rumplestiltskin was a total control freak.

_He probably hates cats._ August hated cats too, but less because they were self possessed and more because one had once tried to eat Jiminy then sold August himself to a traveling puppeteer. He wasn’t too fond of foxes either, but that didn’t come up as often.

“This isn’t going to hurt him, is it?” August asked as Rumplestiltskin held a dream catcher over Pongo, slowly trailing it down his back.

“No, no, he won’t feel a thing.”

“You’re going to do that thing you did with Moe?” Emma asked.

“No, you are.”

“Me?”

“You’re the one who asked for this. Besides, if I do it, Regina will simply claim that I altered the images.”

“Can you do that?”

“Of course.”

Emma sighed. “Of course.”

“Here.” He handed her the dream catcher. “Now, focus in the time and place you wish to see.”

“Right.” Emma held the dream catcher in both hands, her face tensing as she concentrated. The netting of the dream catcher started glowing, like a tiny stained glass window of iridescent gold. 

“Very good. Now focus on Dr. Hopper’s office. Remember why you need to see this.”

“I need the truth. For Archie.”

“That’s right, focus on that…”

August swallowed as he saw Jiminy appear in the dream catcher. August saw him walk over to the door of his office, opening it to reveal - _no surprise_ \- Regina. They spoke, then she cornered him against his desk and reached for his throat. August gasped and looked away. A moment later, Emma let out a sharp sigh and said. “It was her. She did it. August, I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “No, you were doing your job. Jiminy would want you to follow every lead. He’d want her to get a fair trial.” _And I want her to_ rot _in that cell._

August looked down at a confused looking Pongo and rubbed his ears. _There’s a good boy; you helped, buddy._

“Well, we got her,” Emma said. “Those manacles will hold, right, Gold?”

He nodded. “For the time being. As long as the dwarves supply me with the required fairy dust, I can have the permanent cell done long before she can break free of them.”

“They’re on it. And Gold?”

“Yes?”

Emma sighed. “Thanks.”

XxXxXxX

“I didn’t do it!” Regina said for the hundredth time. “I’m telling you, it was Rumple! He’s making his move-”

“No, Regina, it was you. I saw you choke the life out of Archie. You are never getting out of this cell,” Emma said.

“What do you mean you saw me?”

“In Pongo’s memories-”

“That trick! Of course Rumple showed you exactly what he wanted you to see-”

“Not Gold, me. I did it, with my magic. I did it because I thought there was a possibility that you were telling the truth, and believe me when I say that Henry wanted so badly for it not to be you. But it was. And now I have to go back to the loft and tell him that his adopted mother killed another person he cares about.”

“No! You can’t tell him that!”

“Believe me, I don’t want to. But after everything he’s been through - after everything you’ve put him through - he at least deserves a mother who will tell him the truth.”

“But it’s not the truth! I want to see him; he deserves to hear my side of the story! He’s my son!”

“No, he’s not; he’s mine! And after this, you are not getting anywhere near him!”

Regina slammed those damned manacles against the bars. “You will not take my son from me!”

“I didn’t take him. You lost him. You took Archie’s heart, and then you killed him. You broke Henry’s heart. Twice. You, Regina, no one else. And now you’re going to sit here while I help him pick up the pieces.”

“You can’t do this!” Regina shouted as Emma stormed out the Sherriff’s station, Charming following her, his expression cold. He hit the lights on his way out, and Regina was left alone in the darkness.

“It’s not fair!” she screamed, slamming the manacles against the bars again. _I tried so hard!_ She’d been cutting down on magic, only using it to keep an eye on Rumple. Henry had believed her about Jefferson’s hat. They’d started e-mailing each other since Emma had refused to give him the second walkie-talkie. He was starting to come around.

_That’s why Rumple did this now. He just couldn’t let me have that time with Henry._

Regina collapsed against the bars, sobbing. She hadn’t felt like this since Daniel. Powerless. And the only way she’d ever been able to stop that feeling was to become exactly the thing that played right into Rumple’s plans and drove Henry away.

_Damn him! DAMN HIM!_

XxXxXxX

Through a mirror, Cora watched Regina cry. She smiled.

From the hold below her, she heard the cricket scream. She laughed.

XxXxXxX

Bae was quiet as they climbed out of the Cadillac. He’d been quiet for days, ever since Emma and Charming had told them about the cricket. He was hurting, and there wasn’t a damn thing Rumplestiltskin could do about it. It was a familiar feeling by now, and he hated it. 

Rumplestiltskin frowned as he saw Reul Ghorm on the edge of the crowd gathering at the cricket’s grave. Emma, the puppet, and the ill-tempered dwarf were all glaring at her, while Snow White and the pink fairy tried to pretend she wasn’t there. Bae saw her and froze. Then he wordlessly moved to Rumplestiltskin’s other side so that he and Belle were between him and the ruling fairy. The vise around Rumplestiltskin’s heart loosened just a little bit. Bae still didn’t want his comfort, but he would take his protection. It was something.

Fortunately, Reul Ghorm did not attempt to speak. Snow White gave the eulogy, and the crowd kept respectfully silent as Geppetto said his goodbyes to the coffin itself, his son standing with him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Rumplestiltskin could hear Bae sniffling. He looked at him, and for the first time in weeks, Bae looked back. His brown eyes were full of tears, and Rumplestiltskin could murder Regina for putting them there. But he wouldn’t. He and Bae still had a deal, and Regina was now safely stored away in the newly created cell in the mines. Something had broken in her, and it was enough to appease the Dark One’s bloodlust ( _for now_ ).

Suddenly, Bae took a step towards him, hugging him desperately. Rumplestiltskin froze in shock, nearly toppling over with the force the embrace. “I’m still mad,” Bae mumbled, his voice ragged with suppressed sobs.

Rumplestiltskin closed his eyes and wrapped both arms around his son, letting his cane topple to the grass. “I know,” he said tearfully. And he did know, but, Gods, it felt good to hold his boy again.

He felt a second pair of arms around them, and his eyes snapped open. It was Belle. She smiled at him, but didn’t say a word.

_I can do this. I can._

XxXxXxX

_I can’t do this._

Henry was crying into Emma’s jacket. It was real to him now. His adopted mother had killed his friend, and with him Henry’s hope to have her back in his life. 

It wasn’t that Emma wanted to share. She didn’t, especially not with Regina. But like it or not, Regina had been Henry’s mother for ten years, and as far as Emma could tell, most of those years had been pretty good.

She’d done the PTA meetings. The homemade lunches. Christmases and birthdays and school bake sales (little individual apple crisps were apparently her specialty). Emma hadn’t done that. Emma couldn’t do that. But she hadn’t killed his friend either. She hadn’t gaslighted him for a year, and she hadn’t lied to him (except that one about Nate, and, thanks to August, the truth had come out anyway - mostly). 

But she had locked up his adopted mother in an underground cell that looked like it belonged on the set of Hellraiser. Regina was still claiming her innocence, and Emma’s superpower was still telling her that it was the truth, even though she knew it wasn’t. _How am I supposed to do this when the one thing I have going for me has stopped working?_

She had to talk to Gold about it. She really didn’t want to.

She looked over and saw the pawnbroker in a group hug with Bae and Belle. _God, he looks so… human._

_Maybe now is the time._

_Or not._

It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to interrupt them, after all. She’d try to grab a minute with him at the wake. Or maybe she should catch him at the shop tomorrow; she could do without people learning about her little magic problem. 

XxXxXxX

Henry felt numb.

Archie was dead, and his mom had killed him. After she said she would try to be better. After she’d promised she would.

Emma was a great mom, but Mom had been a great mom too, once, and now she never could be his mom again.

She was locked up. In a scary cell in the mines, like the one Rumplestiltskin had been in in the Book. Emma had said that Rumplestiltskin had said the cell had to look like that for the magic to work. It didn’t seem fair.

But Archie was dead, and they couldn’t let it happen to anyone else. It hurt, but it had to be done. _This is what heroes do: protect people, even from people they love._ It still hurt.

Perhaps, then, it was no surprise he had another nightmare about the room of fire that night. It was, however, a surprise that Aurora did too. And she told him something very, very important.

XxXxXxX

Regina turned when she felt a rush of magic, and saw her guard, the mute dwarf, turn to stone.

“Hello, dear.”

Regina froze. “Mother?” she asked, disbelieving. “How… how are you here?”

“Determination,” she said. “And I got here not a moment too soon; look what they’ve done to you.”

“And what are you going to do?”

Mother frowned in that disappointed way Regina knew far too well. “Rescue you, of course. Stand back.”

“Rescue me?” she asked, disbelieving.

“Regina,” she sighed, “I know now… why you sent me though the looking glass. And I know why you tried to have me killed. And it’s… it’s all right.”

“I think it’s not all right,” Regina said, still in shock.

Mother took a step closer. “I love you. I’ve just… I’ve always shown it in all the wrong ways. Please, Regina, let me help you.”

Out of options (and grudgingly touched in a way she knew not to trust) Regina backed up. Mother pulled some pieces of paper out of a pouch at her waist, and blew across one of them. A cloud of dust flew off the paper and dissolved a hole in the bars. Another cloud from the second piece, and the hole was large enough to escape through. “What is that?” Regina asked.

Mother smiled. “Squid ink. Rumple hid it in his cell so he’d have an out; this cell was built essentially the same. Let me help you.” Mother extended her hand to help her climb through the hole. Regina didn’t take it.

From the way her mother was dressed, Regina could tell that she had spent the duration of the curse in the Enchanted Forest, and arrived only now. _The question is: how did she do it?_

_And what does she want now?_

“Not that I don’t appreciate this, mother, but what do you want?”

She looked sad. Regina knew not to trust that, either. “I want a second chance.”

“What?”

“I was wrong to make you marry the King; I see that now. When you cried over my coffin, it… it all changed. I’m so sorry; I want a chance to make it up to you.”

Oh, Regina wanted to believe that. But then she’d wanted to believe it the last time too, and that had ended with her sterilizing herself. “How can I possibly trust you?”

Mother frowned. “Because I am going to tell you the truth. Rumple didn’t do anything to the cricket; I did.”

“What?! _You_ framed me?” Regina accused, finally starting to understand.

“Temporarily. So you can see what these people really think of you. Look at this; they caged you like an animal.”

“You made and air-tight case; anyone would believe it. They thought they had no choice.” 

She looked down. _Mother never does that._ “I didn’t want you to reject me; not again. And there is always a choice.”

“You wanted me broken,” Regina said definitively.

“Receptive.”

Regina laughed. “You are the most manipulative… no, I won’t even argue. Come with me,” she said, climbing through the hole. “We’re going to town.”

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“I don’t care, and neither will they after they see what you did to the dwarf. Emma and Henry and the two idiots - you’re going to tell them how you lied, how this was all your doing. You owe me that.”

“And then you’ll let us start over?”

“I don’t see that happening, Mother. But… I am… I was, trying so hard to be worthy of Henry, and I deserve the same thing from you.” _If Rumple can do it…_

Shockingly, her mother nodded. “You’re right. For you, sweetheart… anything.”

Regina stared at her. “Let’s go, then.”

XxXxXxX

“Mom, Mom, wake up!” Emma grunted as Henry shook her.

“What, kid? What’s wrong?”

“I spoke to Aurora again!”

Emma sat up. “You what? Are you all right? Did you get burned?”

“No, no. But you have to hear this; we need to wake up David and Mary Margaret!”

“Why? What did she say?”

“She said Cora - that’s Mom’s Mom, right? She said Cora was back in the Enchanted Forest, but now she’s come here! Or if she isn’t she’ll be here soon!”

“Woah. That’s… let’s get David and Mary Margaret.”

Mary Margaret gasped when Henry mentioned Cora’s name. “What? Is she that bad?” Emma asked.

“She’s worse than Regina,” Mary Margret said. “Worse, even, than Rumplestiltskin was.”

“Really?” _That’s all we need._

“Yes. She killed Daniel right in front of Regina.” _That’s right. Fuck. At least Gold loves his kid, even if the rest of us might as well have Craftsman tattooed across our foreheads._

“I think she’s after Mom,” Henry said. “Aurora said she kept talking about her.”

“And if she is already here, and she is after Regina…” Mary Margaret began.

“Regina’s a sitting duck,” Emma finished.

_Dammit._

XxXxXxX

Cora knew she had a fifteen-minute walk in which to make her case. If they made it as far as the heroes’ dwelling, she knew they would call Rumple, and she wasn’t quite ready to confront him yet. She had a plan to deal with him, but first she needed Regina’s cooperation. Fortunately, she knew he daughter’s weakness; it was the same as it had always been. She wanted love.

“Did he visit you?” Cora asked.

“What?” Regina snapped.

“Henry. Did he visit you while you were in that horrible cell?”

“You tell me. I’m sure you were watching me, waiting for just the right moment to swoop in.”

“You’re right; I was watching you. But more importantly, I was watching them. He asked to see you; they wouldn’t allow it.”

“I knew it,” Regina muttered, but kept walking. Cora smiled internally. _You still give away too much, dear._

“Let’s be honest. Taking me to be pilloried by the town - or Rumple, as he seems to be doing their dirty work for them these days - might gain you some points, but as long as Emma and her parents are here, he’s not really yours. Not like he was when you were his one and only mommy. You’ve been too bad for too long, and now they see you as a… snake.” Cora looked at Regina, who was unmoved. “You don’t want their love at all,” she observed. “What do you want?” _That is the question, dear; the most important question. Be honest, now._

Regina stopped walking. “My son back,” she said fervently.

“And I want my daughter back,” Cora said softly. “I meant everything I said earlier. I am so sorry. I can do better. I won’t push you away again.” Regina was looking at her now; she was getting through. _I could always read you so well._ “Let me into your heart. Together, we can get him back again.”

Regina stared at her. With a shuddering breath, she reached for her. Cora pulled her close, caressing her hair. “How?” Regina asked.

“Oh,” Cora said. “I have a few thoughts.”

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin sat bolt upright, Belle stirring sleepily beside him. “Cora is alive?” he growled into his phone. “You’re certain?” 

“Yes,” Emma sighed. “And now Regina’s cell is empty. Dopey’s been turned into stone. Can you reverse it?”

“Perhaps.”

“Could Cora have killed Archie and framed Regina for it?”

“Not only could she have done it, it is exactly what she would do. Cora doesn’t share, especially her daughter.” Belle sat up, frowning.

“You mean, she did it to drive Henry away from her?”

“Most likely.”

“Shit. And she trashed the cell.” _Damn it._ “Will the manacles hold Cora?”

“Not for long. Where is Henry now?”

“At the loft with Ruby.”

“Good. Do not, under any circumstances, allow him to leave until Cora is apprehended.” If she learned that Pan wanted the boy’s heart, she would trade him to Pan in an instant. And if she learned who Pan was to Rumplestiltskin, well, that didn’t bear contemplating.

“The blood wards will work on Cora?”

“Yes. She is powerful, but so are you. Are you still in the mines?”

“Yes; when can you get here?”

“Five minutes.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

He hung up. “Who’s Cora?” Belle asked, as he stood up to dress.

He sighed. If there was one thing he had never wanted to explain to Belle, it was Cora. But he knew Belle would not accept it if he refused to answer. “Regina’s mother, a sorceress in her own right. Regina had told me she was dead, but it seems she really can’t be relied upon to be truthful about that, can she?”

“And you think she killed Archie to frame Regina?”

“It’s a distinct possibility; she is very dangerous. Now, please, I need you to keep Bae inside the house until I return. Do not let him leave; the blood wards will keep you both safe.”

“You think she will come after Bae?”

“I do,” he said grimly.

“All right,” she agreed, and once again Rumplestiltskin could not describe how grateful he was to have her. “Wait!”

“Yes?” he asked as he was about to transport himself.

She jumped out of bed and kissed him. “For good luck.”

He smiled. “Thank you.” 

_I’ll need it._


	18. Hooked

“So, can you turn him back?” Emma asked.

Rumplestiltskin was examining the stone dwarf. “Yes. In five days.”

“Five days?”

“True Love is the only thing that can reverse this particular curse. As I assume the dwarf does not have one of his own, he’ll need the potion I’m brewing.”

“Uh, don’t we need that for the barrier?”

“Indeed. Which is why, after our last little hiccup, I’m brewing more than one bottle.” He wasn’t quite sure whose hair he would use for the second bottle, but there were several possibilities to choose from; five days was more than enough time to settle on a pair of candidates.

“Smart.”

“Do you have any way to track Regina or Cora?” Snow White asked anxiously. She obviously felt enormously guilty for the situation Regina was now in. It was annoying.

“Unfortunately, no. Both Regina and Cora have long shielded themselves from me.” While true, that meant little. There were few places in town where Cora would have gone. Her pride would not allow her to truly hide from him, nor would she stay anywhere lacking in magic and luxury. Regina’s mansion, her vault, and possibly Jefferson’s mansion were the only places in town that would satisfy her. Even his salmon Victorian would be too pedestrian. Even if she could get in, which she could not.

“What can you tell me about how Cora got here?” he asked.

Emma sighed. “Henry said something about giants and a magic compass? He didn’t really understand it, and he and Aurora didn’t get to talk for long. Apparently, Cora killed the entire settlement, and sent them after Phillip, Aurora, and Mulan as zombies. And she’d been impersonating Lancelot the entire time.”

“That does sound like her,” he muttered. _Giants? Could they have still had a bean? And how did she find them?_

He’d searched for the giants’ stronghold for centuries, hoping to trade for (or steal) a bean. He’d heard nothing of them except rumors of their annihilation shortly before Prince James had been killed. It seemed awfully coincidental now. _Could Cora have been involved in that? Or did Reul Ghorm simply keep the knowledge of the giants’ location from me? Or both?_

In any case, it didn’t matter now. What mattered was stopping her current plans. Regina was still enchanted to be unable to harm Bae and Belle within the borders of Storybrooke, but Cora wasn’t. He had to find her, to meet with her, and, if he could not manage to kill her, to enchant her the same way. But Cora was far cannier than Regina, and she would not make it easy.

And he had never wanted to see her again. She’d bested him once, and no one but Bae (and Pan) knew his weaknesses the way she did. But he knew hers too, and, if he had to, he would target every single one of them to protect his family.

“So, any thoughts on what we should do?” Emma asked.

“Well, first I think it would be helpful to know if Regina went with her of her own free will.”

“You think she might have?” Snow asked.

“Yes. Cora did always prefer to make Regina choose, and why else frame her for Dr. Hopper’s death, if not to make her feel that she had no other allies? If it was, indeed, Cora’s doing.”

“It was,” Emma said. “Regina was telling the truth when she said she didn’t do it. And we locked her up anyway.”

“It’s not your fault, Emma,” Snow said, “Cora made a perfect case.”

“Yeah, well, now we have to rescue Regina from her,” Emma said. “And I can’t believe I just said that. So how do we find out if Regina went willingly?”

“Well, I imagine the most efficient method would be to ask her.”

“What?” Emma asked, baffled.

“Ask her. Or, more precisely, have Henry ask her. If she went willingly, Cora has probably made some sort of promise about helping her get Henry back - among other things. Have him call her.”

“What if Cora took her heart? What if she makes her lie to us?”

“If Cora took her heart, she won’t need Henry as an incentive; she won’t bother to answer the phone.”

“Unless she wants to use him to gather information on us,” David said.

Rumplestiltskin didn’t miss Snow White’s nervous shuffle. “It is a possibility, I suppose, but what does Henry know that Regina doesn’t?”

“Not much,” Emma said. “I know he was talking to her somehow after that thing with Jefferson’s hat. And if we don’t ask him to call her, he’ll just do it anyway.” 

Rumplestiltskin nodded; he’d assumed as much as well.

“So, back to the loft, then?” David asked.

Emma nodded. “Looks like it. You going to work on repairing the cell?” she asked Rumplestiltskin.

He nodded. _Eventually. Among other things._ “All right, then. I’ll let you know if we get in contact with Regina.”

“I shall await your call,” he said, making a show of already being absorbed in examining the bars. There was value in being known as someone who frequently got lost in their work; they’d leave him to his task, allowing him to track Cora in peace. He’d be waiting for the phone call before he confronted her, though; it wouldn’t do for Regina to tell Henry that he knew where Cora was.

XxXxXxX

Regina frowned at her caller ID. It was from Snow White’s landline. She answered anyway; it could be Henry.

It was.

“Mom! Are you OK?” 

Regina smiled. “I’m fine, honey.” 

Mother was looking at her intently. She did not fidget; Mother had taught her better than that.

“Did Cora kidnap you?” Henry asked.

“What? No, Henry… it’s complicated.” _How does he know she’s here?_

“No, it’s not. You have to come back! Everyone knows she killed Archie, and that it wasn’t you. We’re really sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize Henry,” _and I wouldn’t accept one from the rest of those idiots._ “I know what it looked like.”

“But you’re going to come back now, right?”

Regina looked down. “Henry, I can’t.”

“Why not? Is she making you stay?”

“No. Henry, I know that you don’t believe me, but I know that Rumplestiltskin is planning something. I’m going to protect you, but she understands him better than anyone; she’s going to help me.” He went quiet. “Henry, are you still there?”

“That’s not right,” he said.

“Henry-”

“She turned Dopey to stone. She _killed_ Archie; you can’t work with her. She’ll make you do bad things.”

“Henry, sometimes grown-ups have to do bad things to stop someone who is even worse-”

“No! You can’t! Mr. Gold isn’t planning anything! She’s lying to you!”

“Henry, everything will make sense after it’s over.”

“Mom, come back! Please!”

Regina closed her eyes. Oh, she wanted to go to him, but her mother was right. He would never truly be hers again as long as the idiots were still around. And she was still sure that Rumple was plotting something. If she wanted him back - really wanted him back - she couldn’t go to him right then. “Just remember that I love you Henry, and I’m doing what I know is best. I have to go, now.”

“Mom, don’t!” 

“I love you,” she said again, and, biting her lip, she hung up.

Mother smiled. “I know that wasn’t easy for you, dear, but you were right; this is best. I will make it so Rumple can never hurt you or Henry ever again.”

“How?”

“Tell me, what do you know about the Dark One’s dagger?”

XxXxXxX

Cora had known it was just a matter of time before Rumple came calling; she’d always known him better than he knew himself.

He’d never thought of himself as a man, but at his core, that was what he had always been. He’d lusted after her like a man, and he’d loved her like a man too. She’d figured out very early in their relationship that he had a glaring, gaping weakness; he wanted to be loved. In the end, it was what had swayed her to heed King Xavier’s warning; she knew what losing her would do to him, and she would not allow that to happen to herself.

“Hello, Rumple,” she said coyly. Though strange, she thought this realm’s clothing flattered him, and she found his new face intriguing. _Still so much power, but more hidden, now. Subtle._ She liked it. 

“Cora,” he said evenly. He had both feet planted firmly on Regina’s porch, his hands folded over the top of the cane he still carried everywhere. She thought it an odd habit. She knew from Regina that he’d needed the cane before her daughter had brought the magic to this realm, but why did he still use it? He could compensate for his injury with magic far better than with that little stick. _Perhaps he enjoys being underestimated?_ Although human appearance or not, anyone who underestimated the Dark One was a special kind of stupid; not the type Rumple usually bothered himself with.

“It’s good to see you,” she said, smiling enticingly. He stood so still that she knew that she was affecting him. _He still wants me after all these years._ It was gratifying.

“I cannot say the same,” he said.

“Regina tells me you found your son. I’m happy for you.”

“I’m certain.”

“Really, Rumple, there is no need for us to be at odds. We want the same thing, after all.”

“Do we?” he asked archly.

She took a step closer, standing just inside the blood wards Regina had placed on her home. She was close enough to touch him. “Yes. A second chance with our children. You’ve had yours; let me have mine.”

“And what profit is there in it for me?”

“Well,” the temptation to touch him was too much. She reached out and fingered his lapel. He did not move. Exerting power though stillness; that was new. She liked it a great deal. “I think mutual non-interference is a fair arrangement; don’t you?”

“It’s a bit late for that. I wasn’t done with the cricket, Cora.”

“Hm.” She smiled enigmatically. “Are you here to take me in, then? Regina tells me that you’ve been cleaning up after the so-called ‘heroes’. I can’t imaging what they are paying you with, but it must be impressive.”

“I’m not in the habit of sharing the particulars of my deals with you.”

She stroked his jaw. “You were once.”

“Once,” he said, still maintaining that façade utter unflappability. “No longer.”

She chuckled. He wouldn’t harm her. He still had feelings for her, and desires that that poppet of a librarian could never understand. “What do you want, Rumple?” It was an offer as much as a question, although they both knew that she would never give him what he really wanted: her heart.

“Nothing you can give,” he said with a slight smile and took a step backwards.

“Oh?” She took a step to meet him. “Are you certain? Master?” She leaned forward to kiss him, but her eyes snapped open when her lips met something other than his. He’d put his hand between them, and she was kissing his fingers.

“Yes,” he said, his smile both mocking and sad. He disappeared, leaving only a cloud of black smoke behind.

Cora smiled. She’d missed their games.

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin appeared back in the mines, shaking slightly. How was it that Cora could still affect him so? He had Belle now, and she was everything Cora could never be. She was perfect.

_And she doesn’t know what you really are._

Cora knew. It was what had attracted her, and Rumplestiltskin had never understood it until the moment she’d sent him away. She’d never wanted him, only his power, and that was even more true now than it had been before. Still, a part of him still loved her, and he hated himself for it.

He hated himself for quite a lot, really; what was one more thing?

But he’d achieved what he’d set out to do. Cora, like Regina, was now spelled to be unable to harm Belle or Baelfire within the borders of Storybrooke, and he was fairly certain that she that had not noticed it. He’d also confirmed her location, and her larger goal. She wanted Regina back, her model, dutiful daughter. He laughed. 

_Good luck with that._

XxXxXxX

“What was that?” Regina demanded. She’d known well enough not to interfere with Mother’s confrontation with Rumple, but she had not enjoyed the show. The fact that her mother had never shown a modicum of that passion for her father only made it worse. _She was cruel to him because he wasn’t Rumple._ It wasn’t fair. He’d been a good man, and he should not have been punished for it.

“That was Rumple giving away for more than he meant,” Mother answered, looking terribly pleased with herself.

_Gross. But useful._ “You’re not going to let your feelings for him get in the way, are you?”

She laughed. “Certainly not! His feelings, on the other hand…”

As revenge went, she could hardly do better. Regina smiled.

XxXxXxX

By the time Rumple got home that evening, both Belle and Bae were anxious to leave the house. Had it only been herself, Belle would have left regardless of Rumple’s warnings, but she would not risk Baelfire’s safety. She suspected that he felt the same way about her, which was sweet of him. Bae had less schoolwork now that it was summer, and so they had filled the day with reading, baking, Bae’s records, and a strange game called Monopoly. But neither one of them liked to be confined, and they were both happy to see Rumple return, immediately crowding around to demand answers from him.

“Cora was not apprehended. She and Regina have gone to ground-”

“Dammit!” Baelfire snarled, kicking one of the kitchen cabinets.

Rumple stared. “Bae…”

“Sorry, sorry, I just…”

“You’re angry; I understand. She killed Dr. Hopper-”

“You know that for sure?”

“Emma seems certain; her powers indicated that Regina was telling the truth when she claimed her innocence. And it is very much in line with Cora’s character and capabilities.”

“So, who else? Who’s next? Emma? Henry?”

“Not Henry; Regina would not allow it.”

“Emma, then? Or Mary Margaret?”

“They are likely targets for their ire, yes-”

“But you’re going to help them, right?”

“Of course, Bae. Cora is a threat to everyone; I will stop her.”

“And Regina?”

“Her too.”

“And are we going to be locked up in here until you do?”

Rumple looked down. “It is the safest place for you, although the shop has blood wards too.”

Bae rubbed his forehead. “This is never going to end, is it? Regina, Pan, Cora… there’s always going to be someone else. No, I… you’re not keeping me here; not again.”

“Bae’s right,” Belle said. “We cannot allow them to prevent us from living. I refuse to be a prisoner again, Rumple.” She had both hands on his arms and was looking at him intently. She knew he was just trying to protect them, but they couldn’t give in to fear. And truth be told, there were few things Belle herself feared more than being made a prisoner once again.

“I knew you were going to say that,” he said. “Please, just… be careful? Look after each other?”

Belle smiled and embraced him. “We will.” She looked at Bae, who was staring at them, shocked. She reached out her hand towards him, and he took it. “Everything will be fine; you’ll see.”

XxXxXxX

_Finally._

Cora had finally given Killian the go-ahead to move against the crocodile. He couldn’t strike at him directly, of course; as deadly as dreamshade was, it would not kill the Dark One while he was in possession of his powers. No, it was time for a more round-about tactic, and a gloriously just one if Killian did say so himself.

Rumplestiltskin had taken his love, so now Hook would return the favor. The cricket had been quite clear that the Baelfire and the girl were Rumplestiltskin’s only weaknesses, and whatever his father’s sins, Killian would not harm Milah’s son. But the girl was fair game. She knew what the crocodile was, and chose to be with him anyway. She’d been given several chances to aid in the Dark One’s downfall and refused; now she would whether she wanted to or not.

The difficulty lay in getting her alone. As the cricket had told him, she was always either with Rumplestiltskin or at the library with various other people. If Baelfire was gone, the fairy was there and vice versa. And now the woodcarver and his son were there all day, renovating the interior of the building. 

Hook had gone looking for his old crew and had been disappointed to learn that Smee had been imprisoned for attempting to send the Dark One’s doxy across the town line. He’d have been Hook’s first choice to help with this, but Pintel and Ragetti seemed to know enough about this new world to provide the necessary distractions. As for the deed itself, Hook wanted the pleasure of doing that himself.

XxXxXxX

“Oh, they’re here!” Belle exclaimed excitedly. 

“What?” August asked as several boxes were delivered.

“The first of the books I ordered!” Belle was practically bouncing in glee, thanking the delivery guy profusely then tearing into the first box with her keys (Leroy had taught her that little trick - much easier than hunting for a box cutter).

Another benefit of Nova’s face-to-face advertising campaign was that it had solved the problem of which new books to order for the grand opening. To her great disappointment, Belle’s initial suggestion of “all of them” simply wasn’t feasible with the space (and budget) they had. She’d even asked August the titles of the books he’d written so that she could order them for the library, but he’d been able to avert that little disaster by explaining that they were - ahem - for a “very specific audience”. He’d suggested a few of his own favorite reads instead, but the library did need to update more than the sci-fi and graphic novel sections (not that it actually had a graphic novel section to begin with; the lone graphic novel any of them had found so far had been the Death of Captain Marvel in the spiritualty section). 

Nova to the rescue; she’d simply started polling the people she spoke to, and had even set up a suggestion box at Granny’s. Other than the numerous requests for Fifty Shades of Grey (which, to August’s disgust, Belle had actually ordered “It’s what the people want to read, and most of the libraries I’ve consulted do have it.”), they all agreed it had been a rousing success. August was happy that Nova had finally found her niche - one that kept her far away from power tools.

“Look!” Belle said, holding up a copy of Absolute Watchmen.

“Hey, you did order it!” 

“Of course! You’ve been such a big help, August; it was the least I could do. And you weren’t the only one to request graphic novels either.”

“Let me guess: Bae and Henry?”

“Among others,” she replied with a cheeky smile, pulling the book out of the sleeve to flip through it.

“Ha! We’ll make a comic reader out of you yet.” She laughed.

August looked down as his phone started playing the opening to “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Hardware Store. Strangely enough, it was a text, not a call. “I didn’t even know Papa knew how to text.”

“Is everything all right?” Belle asked. He knew she was worried about how his father was coping with Jiminy’s death. August was worried about him too, of course, which had led to a bit of an argument the day after the funeral when Belle had tried to insist the library renovations could wait, and August had tried to explain that working was his father’s way of coping. The two of them had had some late nights in the workshop since Jiminy had died. All of them, in fact.

“He needs some tools from the workshop.” August frowned. Papa had received a call earlier that morning from a frantic customer needing some emergency handyman work. Belle, of course, had insisted that the library could take a back seat and had urged him to accept the job. August had almost insisted on going with him, but the reality was that they needed a little bit of space, and they both knew it. But it wasn’t at all like Papa to go out on a job without all his tools. _It’s been a bad week._ August sighed.

“Oh, you should take them to him,” she said. “Go on; I’ll be fine.”

“You’re sure? Gold’s not going to be mad I left you alone, is he?” Bae was out on his run, and Nova had received an invitation to speak to someone at the Storybrooke Mirror about the library. This wouldn’t take long, but August knew Gold was nervous about Cora ( _aren’t we all_ ). The guy was beyond overprotective, and August had made it a personal life goal to never piss off the Dark One. _Not that I’d be much help if Cora does show up._

She glanced at the clock. “Bae will be back in just a few minutes. Go on.”

“OK, if you’re sure. I’ll be right back.”

August made it a block before he remembered that the sander Papa needed was actually back at the library. Shaking his head, he turned around and jogged back the way he came. He tugged the front door open only to see a man in a long, black coat ( _seriously, who wears that in July, even in Maine?_ ), menacing Belle with what looked like some kind of hook.

_Fuck._

“August, run!” Belle shouted.

He almost did. But as much as he didn’t want to go toe-to-toe with the villain of a thousand clichéd campfire stories, he liked his chances with the Dark One even less if he found out that August had walked in on this and hadn’t done a damn thing to help. And there was a small, still voice in him that was shouting that Belle was his friend.

August put his hands up in a decidedly non-threatening gesture. “OK, I think there’s obviously been some kind of misunderstanding here-”

“Shove off, mate,” the man said, “This isn’t your business.”

“Her boyfriend will make it my business. Seriously, you do not want to piss that guy off.”

The man laughed. “Scared of the Dark One, then?”

“Yes. And you should be too,” August said, taking a cautious step forward. “Just let her go; she’ll talk him out of killing you if you do.”

He laughed again. “Cowards, the both of you.” _I’m not the one threatening an unarmed woman half my size with a pointy object, asshole._

“I like to think of it as reasonable caution. Seriously, you need to let her go, or things will get very, very bad for you-”

“Take your own advice, mate. I’ve waited too long for my revenge; leave now, and I won’t add you to it.”

August grimaced. _Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck…_ “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I don’t want to fight you, but I’m a lot more scared of him. Please, let her go.”

Another laugh. August really, really didn’t like this guy. “A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets,” the man said, and quick as a snake, he shoved Belle to the ground and charged at August, swinging his hook at his face, and _damn that thing looks sharp._

THUNK!

August wasn’t a fighter by any means, but he was damned good at self-preservation. He hissed in pain as the hook embedded in his wooden arm, but he was sure it hurt a hell of a lot less than if he’d tried to block it with his human one. And he kept his footing as the man ( _pirate?_ ) tugged the hook ineffectually, eyes wide with shock. “I’ve heard of wooden legs - OOF! AH!”

_Got a couple of those too,_ August thought, driving his right knee into pirate’s lower belly as hard as he could, immediately following up with a solid punch to the guy’s pretty nose.

“ARGH!”

Suddenly, August’s left arm started _burning_ , and he fell to his knees, screaming in pain. The hook tore a bloody hole in his arm as he fell - _blood?_

_Brave, truthful, and unselfish._

_Shit._

He saw the sliver flash of the hook again, now dripping with his own blood. Too weak to block, he tried to roll but knew he didn’t stand a chance. _I’m going to die here. I’m so sorry, Papa._

THUD!

The pirate reeled, Belle standing behind him with Absolute Watchmen clutched tightly in her hands. The hook swung back towards her, and August grabbed the pirate just above the knees with his good arm. The pirate fell, his hook narrowly missing Belle’s face, and she hit him on the head a second and then a third time.

The front door opened and someone yelled, “Rumplestiltskin!” A moment later there was a burst of purple smoke. The handle of Gold’s cane hooked - _heh, hooked_ \- around the pirate’s throat, and August took that as a sign that he was in the clear to crawl the hell away from there as fast as he could.

Belle helped him, pulling him along to brace against the circulation desk. Stomach churning, he looked down at the bloody gash in his left arm, which still burned like it was on fire. He saw some kind of yellow ooze.

_What the hell_ is _that?_

XxXxXxX

_Hook._

Bae had recognized him immediately. He knew Belle and August were no match for him, and without a weapon, Bae wouldn’t have much of a chance either. Knowing it would probably result in the pirate’s death, he had summoned his father.

He appeared using magic, but used only his cane to subdue Hook, Belle helping August crawl away from the fight. August’s left arm was a bloody mess, and he looked pale and agonized in a way Baelfire knew all too well. 

Bae dodged around Papa beating Hook into the floor and hastily knelt next to August. “Let me see,” he said, reaching for his arm. August instinctively pulled it away, but Bae saw enough. “Papa!” he shouted, “Stop!” He didn’t. Bae tried something else. “ _Help!_ ”

Papa stopped immediately, his cane poised above his head. Growling, he lowered it, and looked at them. “It’s dreamshade,” Bae said.

“Let me guess,” August said through gritted teeth, cradling his left arm, “It’s some kind of deadly poison.”

“Yes,” Bae said. “Can you help?” he asked Papa.

A snap of his fingers, and Hook was immobilized. Mr. Dove was already on the phone with Emma, but nodded when Papa said, “Watch him.”

Belle backed up so Papa could look at August’s arm. “Please tell me this is something you can cure,” his friend said, his voice tight with pain.

“I’m certain the True Love potion could, but it won’t be ready for another two days.”

Bae and Papa exchanged a look. “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to say I don’t have two days?” August said.

Bae looked at Hook then back at August. “Stay here,” he said more to his father than to August.

“I’m not going anywhere,” August laughed breathlessly.

Bae stalked over to the pirate. After everything else he had done, he would _not_ allow Hook to kill his friend. He knelt over the immobile man and growled. “I know you have your ship here somewhere. Where is it?”

Hook just glared, his face battered and bloody. Bae leaned forward and hissed in his ear, “Look, I know you have Neverland water on your ship. Tell me where it is, or I will tell my father that you sold me out to Pan. If I do that, _nothing_ will stop him from killing you, and you can’t get your revenge if you’re dead, can you?”

“At the docks,” Hook ground out, “Cloaked. Water’s in the hold.”

Bae punched him in the stomach. “Thank you for your cooperation,” he mocked, then he scrambled to his feet. “I know where his ship is; he has Neverland water on it. It will buy us two days.”

“Where?” Papa asked, standing up himself. He’d given August his handkerchief to hold over the wound, and Belle took his place at August’s side.

“The docks. It’s cloaked.”

Papa nodded. “Very good. Where on the ship is it?”

“In the hold; I’ll show you where.”

Papa narrowed his eyes. “No. Tell me where.”

“Papa, just listen for once! You don’t know that ship like I do. Take me there, and I’ll get the water.” Papa stared at him, and Bae knew he was asking himself how he could know the interior of Hook’s ship. Bae didn’t want to explain, and they didn’t have time for it right now. “Papa, please.” _I can’t lose another friend._

“Very well,” Papa said. A twist of his fingers, and Hook’s hook disappeared from his wrist and fell onto the circulation desk with a clatter. “Just in case you get any ideas,” he sneered at the pirate. “If he moves, shoot him,” he told Mr. Dove.

Mr. Dove nodded. Papa extended his hand. “We’ll be back,” Bae told August. August nodded, sweat gathering on his forehead. Bae took Papa’s hand, and they disappeared from the library in a disorienting cloud of purple smoke that Bae had only experienced twice before. He stumbled as his feet hit the docks. Papa caught him. There was blood on his hands.

Bae pulled back. “Can you sense it?” he asked.

Eyes tense, Papa nodded. “Give me a moment.” He raised his left hand and walked in a slow circle. “This way,” he said. “And stay close to me; this spell is Cora’s work.”

“That explains how Hook got here,” Bae muttered.

“Yes.” He didn’t ask how Bae knew Hook’s ship. He didn’t say anything at all as they hunted it down and boarded it.

“This way,” Bae said, heading belowdecks. Papa followed. Bae stopped suddenly, his father nearly crashing into him.

“ _Archie!?_ ”

XxXxXxX

After Bae and Rumple left, Belle asked August, “Do you want me to call your father?”

“After they get back. This will… wait!” He looked at her, panicked. “He doesn’t text.”

Belle frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Papa doesn’t text. And that emergency, that was just to make sure Belle was alone, wasn’t it?” he demanded of the pirate. Gasping, he tried to get up. “WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY FATHER, YOU SON OF A BITCH?!”

“August, stay still!” Belle said. “Emma’s on her way.”

Mr. Dove loomed over the pirate, asking, “Where is Marco?”

“Not telling,” the pirate spat. “You all work for the Dark One.”

Mr. Dove’s gun clicked, and he pointed it at the pirate’s nether regions. “Where is Marco?” he repeated, his voice still perfectly calm.

“He’s fine,” he growled. “Just a distraction.”

“Location,” Mr. Dove said.

“I don’t know that; he’s with one of my crew, fixing his sink or some such thing.”

“Name.”

“Ragetti.”

“What about Nova?” Belle asked, realizing that the call from the Mirror had likely been a distraction as well.

“Pintel. They’re fine; this was about the crocodile.”

“So you tried to murder an innocent woman?” August asked accusingly. “Fuck you, asshole.” 

“He took my love.”

“But she didn’t, and I sure as fuck didn’t. Fuck. You. I hope he kills you.”

“August!” Belle knew August was frightened for himself and his father, but Rumple did not need encouragement to kill anyone.

Fortunately, Emma and David came rushing through the door not long after that.

“August! What the hell happened?” Emma asked.

“He attacked Belle,” August said, jerking his head towards the pirate. “And he’s got my father somewhere; you’ve got to find him.”

“All right, buddy,” Emma said, “What have you done with Marco?”

The pirate gave Emma a ghastly, blood-stained smile. “Well, hello there, love.”

August growled and David glared. “Tell me were Marco is,” Emma said, gritting her teeth.

“He said with Ragetti,” Mr. Dove told her. “And Nova with Pintel.”

“Pintel and Ragetti… that’s two of the Jolly Roger’s crew. Let me guess, you’re Captain Hook?” Emma asked, sighing. 

“Of course,” August muttered, thumping his head against wood paneling of the circulation desk.

“You got a phone book around here somewhere, Belle?” Emma asked.

Belle nodded. “Behind the circulation desk.” David immediately came over to retrieve it.

Emma remembered the pirates’ Storybrooke names from her earlier interviews with Hook’s crew; from the phone book, they were able to get their addresses. David went after Marco, and Mr. Dove after Nova. 

“You think Gold would object of I offered Dove a deputy position?” Emma asked Belle with weary humor. “This town really needs more cops.”

“He’ll be back soon with the Neverland water,” Belle said, smiling slightly, “You can ask him.”

“Neverland water?”

“For the poison that asshole put on his damn hook. It’s sitting on the circ desk; don’t touch it,” August said.

“Poison?” One eye still on the pirate, Emma knelt next to them. “He poisoned you?”

“He meant it for Belle. Gold killed his ‘love’ apparently; this was his revenge.”

“August…”

“No worries,” August said, his voice tense, “Between the Neverland water and the True Love potion, Gold said he’s got this covered.”

And Belle believed that he did, but August was scared, and they all knew it. Emma took a closer look at his arm, suddenly realizing, “You turned back.”

“Yup. While the hook was still stuck in it. Worst. Superpower. Ever.”

Emma smiled tearfully. “You’re going to be OK, August.”

He nodded, his jaw set. Belle put a hand on his shoulder, and Emma called the ambulances. She’d no sooner hung up the phone and said, “They’re on their way,” when Rumple and Bae appeared again, a third person supported between them.

“Look who we found,” Bae said, grinning, his arm around Archie.

“Jiminy?” August asked in disbelief.

“Archie?” Emma asked at the same time.

Archie stumbled, but nodded. “We got the water too,” Bae said, helping Archie sit next to August, and removing a wineskin that was slung across his shoulder. “Drink this. Just one swallow; I don’t know how long the magic lasts away from Neverland, and this is all there is.”

“Got it,” August said, taking a drink. He sighed in audible relief, and Rumple examined at the wound again. 

“It’s working,” he confirmed. “Keep that flask close.”

“You bet I will.”

“August, Belle,” Jiminy said suddenly. “I’m so sorry.”

“What?” August asked. “Jiminy-”

“I told the Captain about you,” he said to Belle, “About your connection to Rumplestiltskin. I tried to resist, but…”

“He tortured you?” August asked, horrified. Emma looked at the pirate, her face hard.

Tearfully, Archie nodded. Rumple was frowning, and Belle knew she had to make it clear that Archie was blameless. “He already knew about me,” she said. “He attacked me before, in Regina’s fortress. You did nothing wrong, Archie.”

Rumple growled. Emma nodded, “This was not your fault, Archie.”

“He’s working with Cora,” Archie continued.

Rumple nodded. “Yes. The cloaking spell on his ship was her work. Do you know what she intends to do?”

Archie shook his head. “Not exactly, but I know she wants to reconcile with Regina. But not in a healthy way.”

Rumple snorted. “I would think not.”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked.

“What Cora thinks is love - it’s not. She wants Regina to be dependent on her, to control her. And she will remove anyone or anything she thinks is a threat to that.”

“Like Henry?” Emma said.

Archie nodded. “If she thinks she can, yes.”

“Wouldn’t that just make Regina hate her forever?” August asked.

“Yes,” Archie said, “But I’m not sure that Cora will be able to resist.” Rumple looked thoughtful, but said nothing.

Mr. Dove called around the time the ambulances arrived, having found Nova wondering around, looking for an address that did not exist. David called soon after, which was fortunate, as neither Archie nor August would agree to go to the hospital until they knew that Marco was all right. He’d been completely unaware anything was amiss with the job he was on, or that Ragetti had stolen his phone in order to send August that text. David agreed to bring him directly to the hospital, and everything seemed like it would sort itself out until Belle, Bae, and Rumple started discussing what they would do next.

Belle wanted to go to the hospital too, in order to support their friends. Bae suggested that he and Rumple start looking for Cora. Hook overheard them. “How can you even look at him?” he spat, glaring at Baelfire. “He _killed_ your mother.”

From the way Rumple froze and Bae looked away, Belle knew it was the truth. Her heart sank.


	19. Second Chances

Rumplestiltskin seethed as the pirate was hauled away. _I should have killed him when I had the chance._ He wouldn’t have escaped with the bean then. He wouldn’t have come after Belle. He wouldn’t have driven Bae from him.

But Bae didn’t look shocked. Rumplestiltskin didn’t know what to make of it. _Could he have known? Did Hook tell him before?_

_Does it matter?_

Milah was Bae’s mother. A terrible one, but the only one he’d ever known. Malcolm had been a terrible father, but still, before he had known what Pan had done to Bae, Rumplestiltskin would have never forgiven anyone who killed him.

And Belle.

How could he explain to Belle that he had killed a woman he had once loved? _Will she fear me?_

_Will she hate me?_

_Of course she will._

Emma ushered everyone off to the hospital. Belle did not use that as an excuse to flee from him, but then, she’d never been the coward. Once the three of them were left in the library alone, Bae seemed to want to pretend that he hadn’t heard what the pirate had said, but Belle would not allow that either.

“It’s more important that we find Cora,” Bae insisted.

“She’s hiding behind the blood wards that Regina has placed in her home,” Rumplestiltskin said, his eyes on the floor.

“You’re sure?”

“Quite. It’s really the only place in town where she is safe from me.” 

“You can’t break them?” Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “Then we need to lure her out somehow.”

“We need to talk,” Belle said.

“No,” Bae objected, “This is more important.”

“Baelfire-” she tried again.

“No! I don’t want to talk about it, OK? I can’t… I can’t deal with that right now! We have to stop Cora.”

“She’s not going anywhere-”

“You don’t know that! She could go after Henry! Or Emma!” Rumplestiltskin suspected that Cora would be unpleasantly surprised if she moved against the Savior, but he said nothing. Bae had just stared to forgive him, and now this. He couldn’t think; he just wanted to murder Jones. _Kill him. He’s already taken too much from you._

Belle seemed to realize this. “We’ve all had a shock. We will all be more effective with clear heads. Let’s go home and talk this over. Hook is trying to break us apart; we cannot let that happen.”

“Hook already broke us apart,” Bae said nastily. “It doesn’t matter now.”

Rumplestiltskin looked up, startled. “What do you mean?” Belle asked.

Bae crossed his arms and looked away. “We need to find Cora,” was all he said.

“And what will we do with her?” Belle asked. “The cell is not repaired yet. Right, Rumple?”

“It is not,” he said dully. Not well enough to hold someone like Cora, anyway.

“Then go and repair it!” Bae shouted.

“As you wish,” he said. It was what he’d been doing when Bae summoned him, after all. It was still his preference to kill Cora, and he still believed it would likely come to that, but there was no harm in having the cell ready (he’d enchanted it in such a way that it could never be used to contain him, of course).

“Rumple, wait!” Belle objected.

“Belle,” he said. “Bae is right; Cora is the threat. We can discuss this later.”

“No! I know you; by ‘later’, you mean ‘never’.” He hung his head. _It’s true. I am a coward, always._

“Belle, just stop,” Bae said, one hand buried in his hair. Rumplestiltskin knew what that meant; Bae couldn’t cope with this. Jones had ruined any chance he had of reconciling with his son. It took everything in him not to transport himself to the hospital and finish what he’d started before Bae had asked him to aid the puppet. _Kill him. He will take everything from you if you do not._

“No!” Belle said. “Don’t you see? This is exactly what Hook wants! And Cora too! We already know they are working together. We must be united, and we cannot until we talk about this.”

“Fine!” Bae snarled. “My mother ran off with a pirate. My father lied to me about it. At some point, he killed her. The end.”

Belle took a step back. “Rumple?”

He could not meet her eyes. “It’s true; I did kill her. But what I told you Bae… I did lie, but not about what you think.”

“What do you mean?” Bae asked suspiciously.

Rumplestiltskin wished Belle were not here. It would be hard enough to explain this to Bae, but Belle had never known him at his weakest. How could he explain that he let a pirate make off with his wife, and that he hadn’t even fought for her? “What do you mean?” Bae asked again, demanding to know.

“Jones… When I went to his ship to ask him to release Milah, she hid from me. I only saw Jones, and he said… Bae, I’m sorry, he told me that he was going to… give her to his crew. He dropped a sword at my feet and told me to fight for her. I… I begged him to let her go, and he refused. I couldn’t, Bae, I couldn’t fight. He’d have killed me and taken her anyway, and you would have been alone. When I told you she was dead… I was trying to protect you. How could I explain what had happened to her? You were a child.” There were tears in Rumplestiltskin’s eyes and he hated himself for it. 

“Oh, Rumple…” Belle said, but he couldn’t look at her. He looked at Bae, who met his eyes.

“And when you killed her?” he asked. 

“It was after… after I lost you. Reul Ghorm told you that the bean she gave you was the last one, but that was a lie. Smee obtained one from somewhere. He contacted me; people knew I was looking for you. I made a deal with him for it, but Hook stole it before Smee could get it to me. That was when I learned what Milah had really done. I… Bae, I… she didn’t even ask about you. Smee knew why I need that bean, and she didn’t even _ask._

“She wanted to make a deal; the bean for Hook’s life. We went back to his ship, and I asked… I asked her how she could leave you.” He laughed hollowly. “She said she was ‘blinded by her own misery’. That she… that… that she never loved me. I saw red. I couldn’t believe… how could she hate me so much that she couldn’t love you? I killed her. I took Hook’s hand; I thought it held the bean. By the time I realized it didn’t, he was already gone. Bae, I’m so _sorry_.”

“For what?” Bae asked coldly.

“If I’d just kept my head, I could have found you so much sooner. I’m _sorry_.”

No one said anything. Rumplestiltskin jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. It was Belle. “I’m not leaving you,” she said, “But I think Bae and I should go to the hospital to check on August and Archie.”

“Hook is there,” he growled. _Kill him. Kill him NOW!_

“I’m sure Emma has him under control. I think you need to finish repairing the cell; everyone needs you to stop Cora. When it’s done, come home. We can talk more about this then.”

He wanted to tell her that he would never hurt her, that she never had to fear him. But he had already hurt her so many times, and they both knew it. She should fear him. He was a monster, and he did not understand why she had not already left. _For Bae?_ He could love her even more for that, even if it meant that the best thing for both of them was to leave him behind. He would kill anyone who tried to take Bae from him, but he could gave him to Belle and know he’d done right by him at last.

But he didn’t have the courage to say it. He needed them both. He knew it was wrong. He knew it was selfish. But he couldn’t let them go. “I’ll call you when it’s done,” he said and vanished.

XxXxXxX

Belle knew that everyone would say that she should be scared, that she should be disgusted. But she wasn’t. 

_“No one, no one could ever, ever love me!”_

Now she knew why he thought that. It was wrong of him to have killed his wife, of course. She would not deny that. And she would not deny that she was afraid that he would succumb to the darkness again. But she knew he would never hurt her. She was not Milah, and he was different than he had been. 

And even at his worst, he was always, always Baelfire’s father. He’d have let Milah go after what she’d done to him; it was what she had done to Baelfire that had enraged him. And it enraged Belle as well. _How could she do that? How could she leave her son, and think no more of him?_

_Did she hate him because he is Rumple’s?_

Belle could not comprehend that. And she could not understand someone hating Rumple as he had been before he became the Dark One. She’d read Henry’s Book and gathered snippets from Bae about their life before. Rumple had been a good man and a wonderful father (was still, when he allowed himself to be), and it angered her to know that Milah and Hook had abused him so.

She would tell Rumple that when they spoke next. Right now, she had to take care of Bae. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Should I be all right?” he asked sharply.

“He really does love you, you know.”

He looked away. “I know. Come on, I want to make sure that Hook doesn’t get away.”

XxXxXxX

He didn’t. 

It turned out that between August and Papa, Hook’s face was in pretty bad shape. _Serves him right,_ Bae thought. But that did not mean Hook was quiet. He was creepily flirting with Emma when Bae walked in. 

August’s arm couldn’t really be treated until the poison was completely dealt with. Nurse Quispe (Chicha, she explained her real name was) wrapped up his wound and sternly told him to come back when Papa’s potion was done. Bae left Belle in the waiting room to fuss over him with Marco and Nova; Bae needed to see that Hook wasn’t going anywhere.

“Bae,” Emma said. “What are you doing in here?”

“I’m here to see him.”

“Come to your senses, lad?” he asked hopefully. “He’s a monster; you know he is.”

“He’s not working with Cora,” Bae replied. “Or Pan.”

“I didn’t have a choice with Pan,” Hook objected.

“Yes, you did. You even told me that. You’re about revenge; that’s what you said. You don’t care who you hurt as long as you get it.”

“Neither does he! He abandoned you!”

“Yeah, he did. But at least he came back. That’s more than my mother ever did. Or you.”

“He’s a murderer!”

“So are you.”

“He killed your mother!”

“And how many people did she kill, after she left to become a pirate with you?” Hook said nothing. “I thought so.”

Baelfire turned and left.

XxXxXxX

It was late in the evening by the time Rumplestiltskin was confident the cell would hold Cora. _If we can even get her into it._

But it was what Baelfire had asked of him, so he’d done it. Heartsick, he appeared in the foyer of his house, half expecting to find it empty, Bae and Belle having had the good sense to leave while he was occupied.

“Rumple?” Belle called from the living room. He looked in. She was getting to her feet, a cup of tea and a book on the side table next to her. Bae was in the chair next to hers, his sketchbook in his lap. His head was lowered, but he was peering at them through his bangs.

“It’s done,” Rumplestiltskin said.

Belle smiled. “Good. They’re keeping Archie overnight for ‘observation’.” She shivered a little as she said that, and Rumplestiltskin frowned. “August went home with Marco, but he has to take a drink of the water every few hours. The potion will be ready tomorrow night, won’t it?”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “When the moon hits its zenith, the base of it will be ready. The hairs can be added at any point after that.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. But there’s something else.”

“What?” _It’s now. Now she will say she is leaving._

“A man came to town today. An outsider, not from our world.” Rumplestiltskin froze. “The barrier, the one to keep out Pan’s shadow, will it keep out the people from this world as well?”

“No, it’s meant to stop magical beings. But I can erect another one that will stop human intruders. Is he still here?”

Belle nodded. “Ruby said that he booked a room at the inn for a week. Mary Margaret would like you to call her about it.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “Of course.”

“But that can wait a moment while we talk.”

“Belle…”

“It can wait,” she repeated. “Come sit.”

Rumplestiltskin looked at Bae. He closed his eyes and nodded. They were both asking for this; he couldn’t refuse.

He sat in Belle’s vacated chair, and she perched on the arm next to him. He turned to Bae. “I’m sorry, Bae,” he said again, “I… I know that nothing can make up for the lost time-”

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Bae said.

“What?”

“When did it happen? How long after you let me go?”

“A little over five months,” he replied, confused.

“Then you would have had six weeks to find me. Back then? In London? With no magic? You wouldn’t have found me. Pan would have taken me, and I would still be there. Because you would be dead.”

Rumplestiltskin said nothing. Belle put her arm around him. “You shouldn’t have killed her,” Bae said. “But I know nothing I say will make you sorry. There were others that deserved it less, and I can’t make you sorry for them either. Your curse doesn’t let you feel sorry, does it?”

“It… makes it very difficult.”

“Why hasn’t it broken yet? You and Belle kiss all the time, but you still have your power. Is it too late to break it?”

Rumplestiltskin bit his lip. He’d been dreading this. He knew what Bae would ask, but he couldn’t grant it. Not yet, not with Pan and Cora still out there. “No, it’s not too late. Curses… they can only be broken if the person under them allows them to be. I still need my power, Bae, to stop Pan, and now Cora. As long as magic is the only way I have to protect you both, my curse cannot be broken.”

“Because you don’t think of it as a curse,” Belle said. Rumplestiltskin nodded. 

“Then Reul Ghorm was right; my kiss wouldn’t have worked back then,” Bae said. 

“Likely not,” Rumplestiltskin said, almost inaudibly.

“But August was right too. If I’d tried and failed, it wouldn’t have landed me in Neverland. I’m just… _so tired_ …”

“Bae-”

“…of being mad at you.”

“…What?”

“Things can’t… they can’t be the way they were before. But you’re here. You came back. You’re trying.”

“I am, Bae,” Rumplestiltskin said, nodding quickly.

“You get one more chance. When Pan and Cora are dealt with, you let Belle break your curse. If you don’t, I’m leaving, and I am not coming back.”

“And if I do? Will you… will you stay?”

He nodded slightly. “Do you have any idea how much I missed you? I was willing to give up everything to get you back.”

“Bae, I’m _so sorry_ …”

“I know. This is your chance to prove it. Do we have a deal?” Bae extended his hand.

Rumplestiltskin took it.

XxXxXxX

“I hear we have a visitor in town,” Rumplestiltskin said.

“Yes,” Snow White replied.

“And what do you want me to do?”

“Nothing yet. First, we wanted to know if the barrier you’re going to put up will keep others out.”

“Not this first one, but give me a week, and I can put up another one specifically for humans.”

“A week?”

“I need to write a new spell, one that won’t interfere with the other barriers.”

“Do you have enough of the potion to fuel it? You’ll need some for Dopey and August, right?”

“I won’t use the potion for this one; I can anchor it to the diamond veins in the mines, now that they span the entire length of the town.”

“All right, good; I’ll tell the Council.”

“And about the stranger?”

“I’ll ask the Council. Can you erase his memory, if it comes to that?”

“Of course, but who knows who else he will tell before then? Or already has? And if he does tell someone and then forgets, and they mention it to him, he will know something is wrong.”

“But if the barrier is in place by then, it won’t matter anyway, will it?”

“Not if no one intends to leave Storybrooke. If they do, they could become a target for what they know.”

“Oh. Right. What do you suggest?”

_Kill him and make it look like a traffic accident._ “First, determine if he has seen anything and has told anyone. If not, I can give him false memories and send him on his way. If so, well, that depends on who he told, doesn’t it? And for goodness sake, watch what is said around him.”

“Of course. The barriers, will he be able to see it when they go up?”

“I can ensure that he doesn’t.”

“All right, then. Emma wants to go with you this time.”

“Fair enough; she might even learn something.”

XxXxXxX

Between Pan, Regina, Cora, _Captain Fucking Hook_ , and now the stranger in town, August was about fed up with, well, everything. He was currently lying in a hospital bed, waiting for Rumplestiltskin to arrive with the potion that would cure the dreamshade (or, as August thought of it, the _Fucking Horrible Neverland Poison of Fucking Horribleness_ ) that Hook had infected him with. Bae had said that Hook had concentrated it somehow, and as a result, it burned through the Neverland water like a Hummer through gasoline. If Gold’s potion didn’t work, August was going to die tonight, and he was fucking terrified.

And his father was too. “It’s going to be all right, Papa,” August said, knowing damn well it could be a lie, “You know Rumplestiltskin knows his stuff.”

Papa gripped his shoulder so tightly it hurt. “Yes, yes, I know.” 

August had sent Jiminy home. Having two invalids to worry about had just been too much for Papa to deal with, but now August wondered if it would have been better for Jiminy to stay. If Rumplestiltskin didn’t come through, he didn’t know what he would do. _Die. Painfully._

He looked up hopefully when he heard a knock on the doorframe, and was immediately disappointed. “What are you doing here?” he asked tiredly. Blue was standing there, still in her nun’s habit, with that same goddamn look of false concern she’d worn twenty-eight years ago when she told Papa that ‘there was no way to tell’ what would happen to him in a land without magic. _You knew how this world would affect the Dark One’s powers but not your own damn spell? Fuck you._

“I’m here to help you,” she said.

“Yeah, right.”

“It’s true, Pinocchio-”

“I told you before, it’s August.”

“No. This is not who you were meant to be, Pinocchio.”

“No? Because it seems to me you did everything in your power to make me exactly this way. Well, joke’s on you; I’m human again. I met your conditions, and as soon as Rumplestiltskin gets here, I’ll be healed too. Whole and human again, _without_ your help.”

“You cannot trust the Dark One, Pinocchio.”

“Yeah, you keep saying that, and yet he keeps holding up his end. Like everything else you’ve ever told me, _Reul Ghorm_ , I’m pretty sure that’s crap.”

“What are you offering?” Papa asked.

“Papa!”

“Suppose Rumplestiltskin does not come, Pinocchio? What will we do then?” August said nothing. He’d made a deal with the devil before; if he had to, he’d make one again - even if he trusted this one even less. 

“Can you heal him?” Papa asked.

“Yes, but there will be a price.”

“Of course,” August said. “What is it? More wood? Another twenty-eight years running your errands?”

“Nothing like that. The price is this life you have lived. I can restore you to how you were meant to be; you will be whole again.”

“And a child… that’s what you’re saying, right? You want to, what, reboot me? Restore me to factory settings?”

“You would have a second chance, Pinocchio. You would be able to grow up with your father; isn’t that what you want? You’re angry because you think I took that from you; but I can return it to you now.”

“Yeah, _now_ ,” he said darkly, “Why are you coming to me with this now? Why not before?”

“Because the magic requires that you be brave, truthful, and unselfish. I could not cast the spell while part of you was still wood; now that you are human, I can.”

“And erase your little mistake, right? Make it like it never happened, so you can still say you did the right thing?”

“I did do the right thing, but I regret what happened to you. Let me make it right, Pinocchio.”

August shook his head. “I can’t believe this. You’re-”

“Pinocchio,” Papa said, “Don’t dismiss her. We don’t know if Rumplestiltskin can save you. This might be the only way.”

August looked at him. “Is this what you want, Papa? I know I didn’t turn out like you wanted-”

“No,” he said firmly. “You are a good man, and I love you. I am _proud_ of you. But I cannot lose you; I cannot. If this is the only way to save you…”

There was a swirl of gray smoke, and Gold appeared, an empty bottle in his hand. 

August sighed in relief. “You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here; I did promise Bae. The question is: why are you here, dearie?” he asked, pointing a curious finger at Blue.

“To save Pinocchio from your dark influence.”

Rumplestiltskin looked at August then back to Blue. “What do you believe I want him to do that he hasn’t done already?” 

“I should probably be offended by that,” August said dryly, “But I’m not.” He was a cowardly, lying degenerate and everyone damn well knew it. Trying to hide it hadn’t done a damn thing except let Blue almost get away with ruining all their lives. He was through being her pawn - _never again._

“Be wary, Pinocchio; the Dark One’s magic corrupts, always.”

“Indeed,” Rumplestiltskin said wryly, looking at the bottle. “True Love, the most insidious of magics.”

“And your price, Dark One?”

“For something as valuable as this? Steep, indeed. I think nothing short of saving the life of my True Love and breaking the nose of my oldest enemy will do. Fortunately, for the puppet, he’s already done both.”

“I broke Hook’s nose?” August asked, grinning. “I am awesome.” Gold chuckled.

“And one more thing: a hair from each of you. Well, not you, dearie,” he said to Blue, smirking cruelly.

“You are going to use our hair?” Papa asked. “It will work?”

Gold nodded. “True Love is the most powerful magic in the realms; I’ve grown adept at identifying it. In a certain sense, I will not be saving your son; you will.” 

Papa immediately plucked several hairs from his head and held them out to Gold. Gold took one and dropped it in the empty bottle. It glowed briefly. “Um, I thought you said there was a base potion,” August said. “What’s with the empty bottle?”

“It’s not empty. Just because you cannot see a thing does not mean it isn’t there. If this room were truly empty, for example, you would suffocate.”

“Oh, it’s a gas.”

He frowned. “If you must assign the terminology of this world to it; yes, it is.” Then he plucked one of August’s hairs and dropped it in. The two hairs - one gray, one black - began to glow, twisting around one another. They all watched intently as they twisted around and around and then slowly crumbled, leaving the bottle full of magenta sparkles that appeared to be both liquid and granular at the same time. _Just like the Dragon’s potion._

August looked up in surprise. “Please tell me that means it worked.”

Gold smiled. “It does indeed.” He pulled out a small vial and tipped some of the potion into it. He capped both bottles, storing the larger one inside his suit jacket. He held the smaller one out to August. “This will cure you.”

“Geppetto,” Blue said, “Do not forget what the Dark One has already taken from you. He still has your parents displayed as trophies; will you trust him with your son?” Papa froze. Gold seemed only mildly confused.

“That’s…” August had read the Book; he knew the details of what had happened to his grandparents. But he didn’t think that Rumplestiltskin had _kept_ them. “That’s not true, is it?” 

“Well, yes, it is. But they weren’t very nice people.”

“That’s not true!” Papa shouted. 

Gold looked even more confused. “You loved them?”

“Of course I did!”

“And they loved you?”

“Yes!”

“Then why didn’t the kiss work?”

“What kiss?”

“True Love’s Kiss. They’re cursed; True Love’s Kiss is the only way to break it. Surely you told the cricket that, when he went to you for help?” Gold asked Blue.

“He… he said you told him there was no way to bring them back!” Papa accused.

_Oh, my God._ “No,” August said, “It’s in the Book. You said _you_ couldn’t bring them back. This was all part of your plan, wasn’t it? Papa had to be lonely. He had to be obsessed with puppets, or he never would have made me. And you wouldn’t have had your little errand boy.” 

Blue said nothing, but by the set of her shoulders, August knew he was right. “How’s this for honesty, Blue?” He snatched the vial out of Rumplestiltskin’s hand and popped the cork off. “Go fuck yourself,” he said, raising the vial in a toast before downing it like a shot. Suddenly, every part of his body tingled. “I was supposed to drink that, right?” he asked Gold, a touch of panic in his voice, “That wasn’t supposed to be applied topically or anything?” _I really need to work on my impulse control._

Gold just smiled. “Yes, you were. Let me see the wound - unless Reul Ghorm has something else to say?”

“It grieves me that you chose this path, Pinocchio,” was all she said, before walking away in a huff.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” August shouted after her, letting Gold take his left arm. The Dark One ran his finger along the underside of his arm, and the bandage separated, as if he’d cut it with an X-Acto-knife. He peeled it away to show the wound, red and bloody, but without a touch of black or yellow. He waved his hand over it, and confirmed what August already knew.

“The poison is gone. Whale can stitch you up now.”

“Thank you,” Papa said.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Gold stepped away, almost seeming embarrassed. “No matter.”

“Wait!” Papa said. “My parents… can they still be saved?”

“Well, yes, but not here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Curses… do not always travel well. The curse on your parents is specific to our world; the Kiss can reverse it, but only there.” 

“Is that what’s going on with your curse?” August asked. That had been bugging him for months; as Rumplestiltskin became more and more essential to containing Regina (and now Cora), August became more and more aware of how screwed they all would be if Belle suddenly kissed his power away.

Gold stared at him. _Crap. Impulse control. Seriously. Work on it._ “Um…”

“My curse is a bit more complicated,” he said cryptically.

“I see,” Papa said. “What must I pay to get them back?” August looked at Gold sharply. If he could pay Rumplestiltskin’s price, he would; his father had been though too much already. 

Gold merely looked thoughtful. “Oh, I think the expression on Reul Ghorm’s face just now was sufficient,” he said with a smile. A puff of smoke, and the puppets appeared in his hand, far more horrifying in person than they had appeared in the book. August tried not to cringe as Gold held them over him for Papa to take.

_Blue just left them like this. She’s a monster._ “Are they… aware?” August couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, no. They were as the transformation took hold, but not now. If you can break the curse on them, it will be as if no time has passed.”

Papa cradled them to his chest. “Thank you.” It seemed wrong to August, to thank Gold for this, knowing the role he’d played in it, but then August doubted that Gold gave a damn either way. And that, at least, he could appreciate. Rumplestiltskin had never denied he was a monster - _not like Blue._

“Well, good evening, then,” he said. “Belle is looking forward to having you back at the library.”

“That’s a ‘you’d better be there tomorrow or else’, isn’t it?” August asked tiredly.

Gold smirked. “You said it, not me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have barrier to erect, and a dwarf to turn back into a dwarf.” He disappeared.

August looked at his father and smiled. Papa hugged him tightly across the shoulders with one hand, the other still cradling his parents. “I am so proud of you, my boy.”

August closed his eyes. “Thank you, Papa.”

XxXxXxX

“You’re sure our visitor won’t be able to see this?” Emma asked as they ventured into the woods to (finally) put up Gold’s barriers. 

“Quite. It’s the middle of the night; he’s sleeping,” Gold said.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Wait… you didn’t curse him, did you?”

“Only a mild one; I’ll remove it once we’re done.”

“Gold…”

He turned sharply towards her. “Remember who we are protecting here, Miss Swan. Besides, you can use the opportunity to search his things; determine what the hell he’s doing here. Your job is to protect this town, is it not?”

He had a point. Ten minutes with the guy’s phone could tell her a lot. Mary Margaret might not like it, but Emma saw the practicality. “You promise it’s just sleep? He’s not going to end up in the netherworld or anything, is he?”

Gold sighed. “The entire point is to keep him away from magic; would I be stupid enough to achieve that by allowing him passage to a magical realm?”

“No.” Gold was a lot of things, but he was not stupid. “OK, let’s just hurry up.”

“By all means, Miss Swan.”


	20. Tiny

“So what is your plan, Mother?” Regina asked. It had been days, and the pirate had accomplished exactly nothing. “I’m getting tired of hanging around.”

“Patience, dear. The key to trapping the Dark One is knowing his weakness.”

“We know his weakness; his kid and the maid.”

“Indeed. But he knows we know that; he has them well protected. Dear Hook proved that well enough.”

“Ah, that’s why you let him off the leash.”

Cora smiled. “Clever girl.” Regina resisted the urge to preen. So far, Mother had kept her word; she’d been more supportive than she had ever been before. Praise, which had once been so rare from her, fell from her lips often now. “No, what we need is a little distraction. And then, with Rumple otherwise occupied, the boy will be unprotected.”

“Just the boy?”

“Oh, Rumple is fond of the maid, certainly, but I know what truly drives him. There is no love stronger than that of a parent for their child, and Rumple has been looking for dear Baelfire for such a long time…” Mother smiled wickedly.

Regina smiled back.

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin’s phone rang just as he felt a slight tremor ripple though the ground, and the unicorn mobile still hanging in his shop started to shake. He answered it, “Gold.”

“There’s a giant rampaging down Main Street; we could use your help,” Emma said, somewhat breathless.

“Lovely,” he said, transporting himself as he put his phone away.

“You destroyed everything in my life!” the giant shouted at David, who was standing in front of him completely unarmed. _Idiot._ “Now you’re going to know what that feels like.” The giant reached for a car.

“I think not,” Rumplestiltskin said, immobilizing the giant with a snap of his fingers. _Power. I’m going to miss this._ But he would have his son; he had to keep reminding himself of that. 

_You’ll be nothing without your power._

_I’m dust without him and Belle._

“What did you do to me?” The giant demanded, angrily.

“Just a little immobilization spell. You see, I happen to own a great deal of the property you seem intent on destroying; I’m afraid I simply can’t allow you to continue.” Rumplestiltskin kept an eye out for the stranger; this was exactly the sort of thing he could not be allowed to witness. And if he did, well, that might give Rumplestiltskin the excuse he needed to… incapacitate him. 

“Gold,” Charming sighed. He turned to the giant, “Listen, the man who hurt you, that wasn’t me. That was my twin brother, James. We were separated at birth, he was raised by a ruthless king.”

“Oh, so the rumors were true,” Rumplestiltskin said. “James did attack your stronghold. Pity he’s dead; I’d had liked to have taken him to task for that.”

“He’s not James?” The giant asked, doubtful.

“Certainly not,” Rumplestiltskin laughed. “This one is David. And he’s annoyingly noble, I assure you.”

“And who are you?”

“Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One. At your service,” he said, with a flourishing bow.

“Gold,” Emma sighed.

“The Dark One?” the giant demanded. “You ally with the Dark One and ask me to trust you?”

“Yes,” Emma said, to Rumplestiltskin’s surprise. “If you know about the Dark One, you know what we could have asked him to do you. But we didn’t. We don’t want to hurt you; we just need you to stop. Just calm down, and we can talk about this.”

“He won’t hurt you!” Belle called out, and Rumplestiltskin frowned.

“Belle, stay back,” he told her, as she walked up, bold as you please, to stand next to Charming. “It’s dangerous.”

She frowned at him, hands on her hips. “Will your spell hold?”

“Of course it will.”

“Then I’m in no danger, am I?”

“And who are you?” the giant asked her.

She gave the giant one of her brilliantly sunny smiles, and Rumplestiltskin was not jealous. Not at all. “I’m Belle. What’s your name?”

“Do you control the Dark One?”

“Oh, no! He’s my True Love.”

“How can the Dark One have a True Love?”

“Believe me, we’ve all been wondering that,” the grumpy dwarf said. Rumplestiltskin frowned at him on principle, but the truth was that Rumplestiltskin himself didn’t know. _Because she doesn’t know what you really are, that’s how._

“Leroy,” Belle scolded. The dwarf just shrugged, rolling his eyes. Belle sighed. “Now, what’s your name?” she asked the giant a second time.

“Anton,” he said, after a pause.

“Anton.” She smiled. “I’d like to help you-”

“You can’t,” he snapped. “They’re _dead_. My family is dead, and humans killed them. That’s all human do: lie, and steal, and _kill_.”

Belle frowned. “I’m sorry, Anton; I’m sorry that happened. But not all humans are like that. Like Emma said, Rumple could have hurt you, but he didn’t. He won’t. No one here is going to hurt you; we just can’t let you hurt anyone else.”

“Maybe he should kill me. Maybe that would hurt less.” 

“Oh, you can’t mean that,” Belle said sadly. “Would your family really want that for you, Anton?”

“No,” the giant murmured. 

“If I ask Rumple to let you go, do you promise not to attack anyone else?”

“How do I know _he’s_ not James?” the giant asked, looking at David.

“Henry’s Book,” Emma said. “We’ve got this Book; it tells all our stories. It explains how James died. And the whole… twin thing.”

“And James would have already tried to kill you,” Rumplestiltskin drawled. “Impatient, that one. Had a lot to do with how he died, actually.”

“Yes,” the giant sighed, “He would have. All right. Let me go, and I’ll stop.”

“Hm.” Rumplestiltskin had not actually agreed to that, and he certainly wasn’t going to do it with Belle standing right there. But there was no need to antagonize the giant, either; his cooperation could be useful. “One question: how did you get here, to Storybrooke?”

“I was captured by a witch named Cora. She brought me here on a pirate’s ship.”

Ah, useful indeed. “I see. I’m going to-” _Rumplestiltskin!_ He was being summoned. By Bae. 

Sparing no more thought for the giant, he disappeared.

XxXxXxX

Bae supposed it had been pretty stupid to take his run by Regina’s house, but with the barriers now in place to capture Pan’s Shadow, he was impatient to deal with Cora. _He promised. Papa promised; as soon as Pan and Cora are taken care of, he’ll give it up._ Bae had been waiting for that day for nearly three hundred years; he’d waited long enough.

He hadn’t even realized that the woman walking towards him was Cora until he she smiled at him and said, “Hello, Baelfire,” just as Mr. Dove disappeared, surrounded by purple smoke. Cora then made a gesture Bae recognized, and he braced himself. But nothing happened. She frowned.

“Oh, Rumple, you clever man. Regina?”

“I… something’s blocking my magic!”

Cora sighed. Bae ran. “Rumplestiltskin!” he shouted. Papa appeared to his left just as Cora appeared right in front of him. She grabbed for Bae, but couldn’t seem to touch him, her hands bouncing off some invisible force field in a way that seemed somehow familiar. _Papa, what did you do?_

Without any explanation, Bae found himself teleported to the living room of their house. It was childish, but he stamped his foot and shouted, “Papa!” This time, he didn’t come.

XxXxXxX

Cora wasn’t put out. She should have expected this of Rumple; he’d always been the only man that could match her. Regina wasn’t taking it so gracefully. _Poise, dear. Apparently, your years as the Evil Queen didn’t teach you that._

“What did you do?” Regina demanded of Rumple.

“Care to be more specific? I’ve done quite a lot recently.”

“He spelled us so that we cannot hurt his son,” Cora explained, “And probably his little maid too. Really, Rumple, there is no need for us to be at odds.”

“You attacked my son,” he said coldly.

“And you used my daughter to banish me to Wonderland. Really, Rumple, isn’t it time we put these petty squabbles behind us?”

“Understand this, Cora.” Oh, he was angry. You reveal too much, dear Rumple. “My son is off limits. So is Belle. Attempt to harm either one of them again, and I will spend the rest of my immortal life making you regret it. I will return your heart to your chest just so you will feel it when I crush your daughter’s to dust. Am I understood.?” Oh, he wasn’t just angry; he was afraid. _How delicious._

Cora smiled. “Perfectly.”

“Then take this advice; leave Storybrooke. Take Regina with you. No matter how clever you think you are, you cannot stand against the powers of the Dark One.” He waved his hand. Suddenly, a snail was sitting where Regina had been standing a moment before. “Consider this your only warning.” He left, gray smoke swirling around him.

Cora smiled. She crouched down by Regina, reaching out her hand for Regina to crawl on to. “Come here, my darling; let mother take care of you.”

XxXxXxX

Ariel looked over when she heard the splash. “Man overboard!” Eric shouted. She knew that they were supposed to watch what they said and did while the stranger was in town, but she would not let an innocent person drown. She slipped off her bracelet and dove into the harbor.

She stayed under the waterline just in case the stranger was watching. As she approached, she realized the man in the water was very tall and dressed in a suit. She popped her head above the surface to see if he was who she thought he was. He was.

“Mr. Dove!”

XxXxXxX

With Bae safe at home and Regina and Cora distracted, Rumplestiltskin returned to Belle and the giant.

Who was no longer giant.

“Well, that makes things easier.” A snap of his fingers and the giant could move.

“Gold!” Emma demanded, “What the hell? Where did you go?”

“Cora and Regina,” was all he said.

“Bae?” Belle asked immediately.

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “I sent him home.”

“He all right?” Emma asked. Rumplestiltskin nodded again.

“You didn’t happen to take care of Cora and Regina for us, did you?” the grouchy dwarf asked.

“Temporarily,” he smirked. “Cora will be spending the next few hours turning her daughter back into a human.”

“Let me guess: a snail?” Emma asked. Rumplestiltskin nodded, still smirking. Emma sighed, “Well as long as you didn’t crush her.”

“Even if you did,” the dwarf muttered. Rumplestiltskin laughed.

“Leroy,” Belle scolded.

“You are enemies of Cora and Regina?” the giant asked.

“Hell yes,” the dwarf said. 

“Then I want to help you.”

“Marvelous!” Rumplestiltskin said. “But first, where is the stranger?” he asked Emma.

“That’s… a really good question.”

“Stranger?” the giant asked.

“Ah. This world isn’t exactly supposed to have magic in it,” Emma explained. “A couple of days ago, someone from outside Storybrooke showed up, and, well… a giant is kind of hard to explain.”

“No magic?” The giant seemed baffled by the concept. Rumplestiltskin couldn’t really blame him, as he’d been just as clueless all those years ago when Bae had come home with that bean. He’d agreed to go through the portal without packing a satchel of gold or even a staff to walk with for goodness sake; he’d been an utter fool. _You still are. You think this is gong to end any differently?_

“Yeah,” Emma said. “So, um, we kind of have to find him.”

“Well, it’s lunch time; he’s probably at the diner,” the dwarf said.

“In which case he saw everything,” Emma growled. “How are we supposed to explain this?”

“We don’t,” Rumplestiltskin said. “I can alter his memories.”

“Rumple-”

Rumplestiltskin took Belle’s hands. “It won’t hurt him, sweetheart; it will keep everyone safe.”

“Including him,” the puppet said, his left arm in a sling. He must have arrived some time after Rumplestiltskin left to rescue Bae. “If he goes around telling people magic is real without proof, people will think he is crazy. And if he has proof, well, we won’t be the only ones ending up in a government lab somewhere.”

Emma and the puppet exchanged a significant look. Mary Margaret and Charming noticed it too. “You’re right, August,” Mary Margaret said. “He doesn’t deserve to get mixed up in all this, either.” 

“Then we’re agreed?” Emma asked.

“Yeah,” the dwarf said.

“I don’t like it,” Belle murmured.

“It’s the best way,” Rumplestiltskin said, kissing her hands.

She gave him a conflicted smile. “I trust you.” She amazed him. Trust. He didn’t deserve it, but he would try to honor it.

“All right,” Emma said. “Everyone, split up. If you find the stranger, call me or Gold.”

“Belle?” Rumplestiltskin asked. “Will you go back to the house? Check on Bae? I don’t know how long this will take.” And he was likely not pleased about being transported suddenly. Rumplestiltskin would go himself and explain if he were not concerned that the stranger was uploading footage of the giant’s rampage on to YouTube at this very moment.

Belle kissed him briefly. “Of course.”

Rumplestiltskin saw the dwarf roll his eyes, and his little fairy scolded him, “Dreamy.” She turned to Belle. “I’ll come with you,” she offered. “We can look out for the stranger on the way.”

“But-” the dwarf objected.

“Why don’t you show Anton the diner?” Mary Margaret suggested.

“I think it likely the stranger is there,” Rumplestiltskin said. “I don’t see either of the Lucases here; they may be sitting on him.”

“Good point,” Emma said. “You go that way, Gold. I’ve got the docks. Mary Margaret - Town Hall?” Snow nodded. “David - the toll bridge and the well?”

“Sure.”

Further assignments were handed out as Rumplestiltskin headed to the diner, Belle on his arm (their house was in the same direction), and the dwarf, fairy, and giant following them. “So why’d you suddenly get small?” the dwarf asked.

“Cora made me small. Then Regina gave me a mushroom to make me big again, but it wore off. I must have been the distraction while they went after… Bae, was it?” he asked Rumplestiltskin. 

“Yes. A gambit that did not profit them, I assure you.”

“Don’t suppose you got a picture of Regina as a snail?” the dwarf asked hopefully.

Rumplestiltskin smirked. “Afraid not.”

“Damn.”

“I’m sorry,” the giant said.

“It’s all right,” the fairy said. “Cora tricked you.” _Rather a lot of effort she went to just for a distraction. Unless…_

“Did she have another reason for bringing you here?” Rumplestiltskin asked. 

“I don’t know. She sent a pirate and a warrior woman to steal my compass, and they stole my last bean too. It was dead, but she found a way to make it work. Maybe she wanted more?”

“Do you have more?” he asked carefully.

“Not exactly, but… how’s the farmland here?”

“Fairly fertile,” Rumplestiltskin answered, “We are currently in the middle of the growing season. The first frost is likely about three months away.”

“That’s perfect.” 

“What’s that?” the dwarf asked. Rumplestiltskin resisted the urge to look.

“This stem is from a beanstalk. If I plant it, I should be able to grow some magic beans. That must be what she wanted.”

“Would you be willing to grow them for us?” the dwarf asked. “We’re not actually supposed to be here, in this world; Regina cursed us.”

“If the soil is good enough… yeah, yeah, I will. But only after Cora is defeated; my family died to keep these beans out of the hands of people like her.”

“Not a problem,” the dwarf said. “We’ve got Snow White, Prince Charming, and the Savior-”

“And Rumple!” Belle added.

“Yeah,” the dwarf said reluctantly, “And the Dark One. Cora and Regina don’t stand a chance.”

_Such faith._ Belle smiled at him. _Perhaps it is warranted._

XxXxXxX

Greg had known that he’d had the right place. He’d been unable to find the Mayor, and the Sherriff had been replaced with a blonde woman, but he’d been certain that the owner and the waitress at the diner were exactly the same as they’d been twenty-eight years ago. And yesterday, he’d spotted the guy Tamara had met in Hong Kong. But he’d found no concrete proof of magic.

Until now. _Why the hell did I leave the neutralizer up in my room?_ The waitress had to be some kind supernatural creature with how quickly she’d moved when he’d tried to leave the diner to get a better look at the giant. And she was incredibly strong. Unnaturally strong.

“What are you?” he asked, his hands pinned behind his back.

“A waitress,” she said.

“You can’t keep me here!”

“Actually, I can. And I will. I’m sorry you got mixed up in this, but I won’t let my friends be put at risk.”

“So you’re going to kill me?”

“Of course not! But there are other options.”

“Magic?” he spat.

“I can’t say.”

The old woman sighed. “I think the cat’s out of the bag, girl.”

“Mary Margaret will know what to do.”

“And if she doesn’t, Gold will. I’d cooperate with whatever Ms. Blanchard wants, if I were you,” the old woman told Greg. “You don’t want to tangle with Gold.”

“He’s a lawyer!” the waitress said jokingly. God, she was strong. Greg could barely move, and it seemed effortless on her part. _What are you, you freak?_

But Greg knew when to hold his tongue; he’d been doing it for twenty-eight years. He went still, and waited for her to let her guard down. She didn’t.

After some time passed, the door to the diner opened, and Greg’s heart sank. “It’s not often I’m glad to see you in here,” the old lady said to the man in the suit - Gold, Greg was sure.

“Hey, we were right,” the rough-looking miner said. Right behind him was… the giant? _How did he get this size? Fucking magic._

“Indeed. Good work, Miss Lucas,” Gold said. “Has he gone near any recording devices?”

“Phone’s still in his pocket,” the waitress said. 

“I’ll call Emma, tell her we found him,” the miner said.

Greg’s eyes were fixed on Gold. Whatever the waitress was, she was nothing compared to this man; he exuded power. Greg hadn’t met anyone like this since the Mayor. _He’s going to kill me._ “Please, please,” he begged, “I’m just a tourist. I didn’t know what kind of town this was.”

“And pretty soon, you will once again be unaware,” Gold said, pinning him with a predator’s smile. “Don’t worry; this won’t hurt.” He twitched his fingers.

Greg passed out.

XxXxXxX

It wasn’t that Emma didn’t appreciate everything Gold was doing for them, but she never forgot why he did it. He was in it for his kid and Belle, and everyone else (and greater questions of right and wrong) was utterly irrelevant to him. He’d kill the stranger if he thought it was the best was to protect his family; no way in hell was she leaving the two of them alone. 

Emma herself hadn’t had much (or really, any) time to talk to the stranger (Cora and Regina having been the bigger priority), but she hadn’t found anything incriminating on his cell phone. He was probably just a tourist that got lost; it had been bound to happen eventually. He was a problem, sure, but one she was going to solve without sacrificing an innocent person.

“So what, exactly, are you going to do?”

“I’m going to use a dream catcher to physically remove his memories of the giant and anything else magical that he has witnessed in Storybrooke, the town’s location, and its name. That way, even if he knows something is amiss, he will never be able to access what he has seen.”

“Then what?”

“I can construct a false memory of today, implanted with a suggestion to leave town.”

“Will it actually force him to leave town?” David asked.

“Not unless I take his heart.”

“No,” Mary Margaret said firmly. “Can he even live without a heart out there?”

“No,” he sighed, “Which is why I won’t be doing it. I still have a deal with Bae, you know.” _Thank God._

“How strong will the false memory be?”

“With no real memory to contradict it? Quite. But it is technically a curse, and can be broken.”

“Let me guess, True Love’s Kiss?” Emma asked.

“Yes. But it’s rarer than you think. It’s unlikely that he has one.”

“And how long until you can get that barrier up?”

“Two days.”

“Good.”

“Will we still be able to leave?”

“Yes. Anyone who has been on this side of the barrier will be able to come and go at will; I’m not interested in being trapped here any more than you are.”

“And with the beans from Anton, we’ll be able to go home,” Mary Margaret said, taking David’s hand. “I think we might just be getting our happy ending at last.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Emma said. “We’ve still got Cora and Regina to deal with, and Pan’s Shadow.”

“I’ve defeated Cora before,” Gold said, “Regina too. And I will destroy Pan’s Shadow.”

Emma wasn’t great at believing, but she could believe that.

“So show me what you’re doing with this dream catcher,” she said.

XxXxXxX

Tamara grabbed her ringing phone. It was too early for Greg to be calling… unless he’d gotten into trouble.

“What’s happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? Then why are you calling now?”

“I mean there was nothing there. It didn’t have what we’re looking for.”

“What? What are you taking about? Last night, you were sure it was the place.”

“No, no; there’s nothing interesting there at all.”

“What about that guy from Hong Kong? I’m telling you, Greg, he’s the same guy!”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t see him anywhere.”

“Yes, you did; you sent me his picture! What did they do to you?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Where are you?”

“At the bus station.”

“What?! Greg, stay right were you are; I’m driving up to meet you. They obviously did something to you, which means that we were right; this place has to be destroyed.”

“Are you sure that’s necessary?”

“Yes. Just stay right where you are, baby; I’ll be there in an hour.”

“OK. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

_What did they do to you?_ Their quest had never been quite as personal for Tamara as it had been for Greg; she hadn’t lost someone to magic the way he had. But this? This was personal.


	21. Turbulence

“There you are!” Bae said as soon as Rumplestiltskin opened the door. He sounded annoyed.

“Yes,” Rumplestiltskin said cautiously. “I had to stay to ensure that the stranger left town. I’m sorry if I kept you waiting, Bae.”

“Did you _make_ him leave town?”

“I planted a suggestion that he do so. It did him no harm, Bae, I promise. Sheriff Swan oversaw the entire process.”

Bae’s shoulders relaxed marginally. Of course he had every reason to trust Emma more than his father at this point, but it still stung. “Belle said that you turned Regina into a snail,” he said, and Rumplestiltskin could not tell if he was upset or not. He erred on the side of caution.

“A distraction only; to keep her and Cora busy while I dealt with the giant.”

“His name is Anton,” Belle said, “And we are joining everyone for a welcome dinner at Granny’s tonight.”

Rumplestiltskin frowned. “Are you sure that’s wise? An event like that would be sure to catch Cora’s attention.”

“Which is why it is important that you come; you can protect everyone if she shows up,” Belle said with an impish smile, and Rumplestiltskin knew that he had no defense. 

He sighed. “What time?”

“Six.”

“Very well.” Belle smiled at him. He smiled back.

“And what else did you do to them?” Bae asked, his voice guarded.

Rumplestiltskin brow furrowed in confusion; Bae was upset with him, and he did not know why. “Nothing, Bae.”

“Yes, you did,” he said accusingly. “They couldn’t touch me; you did something to them, some kind of spell.”

“Oh, that, yes; a precaution, and a necessary one. Cora and Regina cannot harm you or Belle within the borders of Storybrooke. It’s exactly what you asked for Bae; it prevents them from harming you, but does not harm them. They were not even aware of it until today.”

“And why didn’t you tell me?” Bae snapped.

Rumplestiltskin frowned; Bae had plenty of reasons to be angry with him, but this was not one. Any decent parent would have done the same. “Because I did not want you to take unnecessary risks; what were you doing that close to Regina’s home anyway?”

“Is that the only reason you let me out of the house?”

“Yes. I knew you would not be happy confined here. I found a way to keep you safe and give you your freedom without hurting anyone; that is what you wanted! Why are you angry with me?”

“Because you didn’t tell me the truth! When did you even have a chance to put that on Cora anyway? Did you go see her? Is that how you knew she was hiding with Regina?”

“Because she is watching you, us; it was best if she didn’t know. I told you I would protect you, both of you. This was the best way.” 

“You didn’t answer my question,” Bae said, “Is this how you knew where Cora was?”

“I knew there were only a few places she would be; that I found her there only confirmed what I already suspected.”

“And why didn’t you tell Emma?”

“Because she would have tried to confront them directly. Or asked me to expand the spell; there are limits, Bae.” 

“So you confronted Cora alone, without telling anyone?” Belle asked sharply. Rumplestiltskin was getting angry. Since the curse had been broken, he had done everything they had asked, even when it was contrary to his own desires or best judgment. Belle had told the giant that she did not control him, but then why did she need to know every detail of his plans?

“Cora is no danger to me.”

“You don’t know that!” Belle snapped.

“Yes, I do!”

“How?” Bae asked, “How do you know that? You said you knew her before; what did you do to her?”

“Nothing!” After what she’d done, he’d been merciful with Cora. Wonderland was annoying, but she’d been a Queen there, just like she had always wanted. And he had not pushed her though the mirror, anyway; that had been Regina’s choice.

Belle grit her teeth and took a deep breath. “Rumple, you should have told us.”

“Why? I did exactly what you asked; neither Regina nor Cora came to any harm. And you never answered my question either, Bae; what were you doing that close to Regina’s home?”

“Why should I tell you?” Bae asked haughtily, “You never told me not to go there.”

“Yes, I did! I’ve told you to stay away from Regina. You are a _child_ , Bae, this is not your fight!”

“No! No, you don’t get to call me that; not after everything I’ve seen!” 

Rumplestiltskin gasped like he’d been struck. He knew what Bae had seen, and he knew it was his fault. But Bae was still a child, even if he had lived many more years than most people ever would. “Let’s just calm down and talk about this,” Belle said, “We’re all angry-”

“I’m going to the shop,” Rumplestiltskin said. Nothing he could do or say would improve the situation; if he stayed, he would only make matters were. _Like you always do._

“Don’t-”

He did.

XxXxXxX

“Rumple!” Belle shouted angrily, the smoke from his teleportation (a word she’d learned from August) lingering briefly.

“Let him go,” Bae said. “He’ll never admit he was wrong.”

“That’s not true.” He apologized profusely and often. He constantly implied he wasn’t worthy of her, and was so utterly devoted to Bae that Belle had truly feared for him if he and Bae had been unable to reconcile. He’d been so terrified of upsetting either of them that it sometimes felt like he’d spent the last four months walking on eggshells. Suddenly, she started laughing.

“What?” Bae asked, “What’s funny?”

“Let’s go get your father,” she said.

“Why?” Bae asked peevishly.

“Because this was progress, and I’m not going to let either of you stop half way through. Come on.” She took his arm and pulled him towards the door. He dug his heels in. _Like father, like son._ “Bae…”

“Why can’t he just tell me the truth?” Bae asked. “He’s always hiding things from me, and now from you too. How can I trust him if he does that?”

“He thought he was protecting us; we just need to explain why that’s wrong. He’s been trying so hard, Bae.”

“So have I!”

Belle turned, putting a hand on his other arm. “I know; I know you are, Bae. But look how far you’ve come; will running away really help either of you? Besides,” she said, smiling slightly, “If we let him get away with this, he’ll just keep doing it.”

He was still upset, and she knew Rumple would be kicking himself for it once he calmed down. She hugged him. “He loves you so much. Talk to him; he’ll listen.”

“Will he?”

Belle pulled back. “Yes. He’d do anything for you. He’ll listen.” _I’ll make sure of it._

XxXxXxX

The sign was flipped to ‘closed’, but the door wasn’t locked. It was never locked anymore; the blood wards kept out anyone except Papa, Belle, and Bae unless they specifically invited someone in. The spell was far more effective than any lock. _Will it break after Belle breaks Papa’s curse? Will he even let her?_

Bae wished that he didn’t doubt him. His father had already tried to give up magic twice since finding him. After that, it wasn’t unreasonable to trust that he would do it again. Bae wanted to have faith that he would; Belle did.

But it was so hard. He’d had faith before, and Papa had shattered it. He could believe that without the magic, they could start over - really start over - but not with it. Bae could never really trust his father again as long as he had magic.

Glass was scattered across the floor; one of the display cases was broken. “Rumple?” Belle called. _He must be in the back. Hiding._

He was. “You didn’t-” He swept aside the curtain. “Oh. Mind the broken glass,” he said, looking down.

“You smashed it,” Bae said tonelessly.

“I was angry. I can fix it.”

_And pretend you never broke it._ But that wasn’t fair. Papa had never denied what he’d done. Even when Bae couldn’t remember, Papa had never pretended it hadn’t happened. Even when Bae hadn’t wanted to remember. But this was just too familiar; too much like what had happened with Pan. _How can I trust you if you hide things from me?_

“Rumple,” Belle said, “We need to discuss this.”

“I don’t want to discuss it.”

_Too damn bad._ “You told me to tell you if you do something wrong,” Bae said. “I suppose you never promised that you wouldn’t throw a fit and run away if I did, but I thought it was implied. But I guess that’s what I get for taking things for granted with you. Don’t worry; I won’t do it again.”

Papa’s jaw dropped and he looked at Bae in shock. “Bae…”

“What?” he snapped.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what? Be specific.”

“I didn’t mean for you to think that. I lost my temper; I’m sorry.”

“And hiding things from me? And Belle?”

He frowned, “I was protecting you; both of you.”

“You lied to us.”

“I did not.”

“No,” Belle said, “Technically, you didn’t; but you weren’t truthful either, Rumple. Why didn’t you tell me you’d been to see Cora?”

“Because, I…”

“Because why?”

He tightened his jaw. “Because… I knew you would ask about her.”

Belle frowned, and Bae asked, “What about her? You said you had dealings with her before; what are you hiding?”

Belle inhaled sharply, suddenly understanding. “She was your lover, wasn’t she?”

Papa shook his head, but admitted, “It was a long time ago. Before Regina was born; it doesn’t matter.”

“Why couldn’t you just tell me that?” Belle asked, hurt.

“Because he hides things,” Bae said, crossing his arms. “And he can’t even blame his curse for that.”

Papa looked like Bae had slapped him. But it was true; he’d never been honest about his past, even before. Belle walked towards him. “Why, Rumple? Why do you do that? Don’t you trust me?” she pleaded.

“Of course I do.”

“Then why?”

_Because he’s a coward._ But Archie said that wasn’t a useful word. Blaming it on something he was, rather than something he did, gave him no incentive to change his behavior. At least, that was what Archie had said. “Because he’s scared,” Bae said instead. “I’m scared too, Papa. It scares me when you hide things.” His hiding things had never helped; they always came back to bite them in the end. Hadn’t Papa even said that? _“They hurt you anyway.”_

Papa’s mouth opened. “Oh,” he said eventually. “I’m _sorry_ , Bae.”

_You get it now?_ Bae was still mad. But Belle had been right; letting him run away wouldn’t have helped. “Rumple,” Belle said, now standing in front of him. She took his hand. “You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t leave you.”

“Oh, Belle…” He was tearing up. Bae wanted to resent him for that (what right did he have to be upset when he was the one who’d screwed up?) but he was surprised to find that he didn’t. Because he’d been afraid too. Mama had left them; why shouldn’t Belle? But she said she wouldn’t. And he believed her.

He didn’t know if his father did. But they kissed and held each other. Bae leaned against a display case, his arms crossed. “Bae?” Papa asked, holding a hand out to him. Bae almost didn’t take it. He _was_ still mad. But he was scared too. Eventually, he took it, and Papa and Belle both wrapped their arms around him. 

Maybe he could have faith, just a little bit.

XxXxXxX

Anton’s welcome party hit a little hiccup right at the beginning. “I’m better off alone,” he told Dreamy, “I’m not very good a fitting in.”

“Well, you’re in the right place,” Dreamy said. “Storybrooke’s got all kinds. Dwarves.” he shared a grin with Nova as he said, “Fairies. Werewolves. Whatever the hell Booth is…”

“I’m human,” August said, adding with a grin, “Today. Can’t make any promises about tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?” Anton asked.

“Ah, I started out as a puppet, animated with magic. When I… misbehave, I turn back into wood,” August explained.

“Didn’t you almost turn into a donkey at one point too?” Emma asked jokingly.

“Define ‘almost’.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“The island exists, and I was there briefly, but Jiminy is a lot more on the ball than his Disney counterpart. He got me out of there before I sprouted ears.”

“And what about the tail?”

“No tail either.”

“Aw,” Henry said. August made a face at him, and they both laughed.

“What happened to your arm?” Anton asked, nodding towards August’s sling.

“I was mauled by a pirate,” August said with a rueful smile.

“Hook?” Anton asked, shifting uncomfortably.

“Yeah. But don’t worry; he’s in jail now. I broke his nose!” August said proudly.

“Sure that was you and not Gold?” Emma asked. “He got a few good hits in.”

“Gold said it was me. It was the price he asked for taking care of the poison,” he said, gesturing at his arm, “And you know Gold would never say a price was paid if it wasn’t. Then again, if it wasn’t me, I would have to break into his cell and do it again…”

“Oh, now that is tempting,” Rumplestiltskin said, having arrived with Belle and Bae as August was talking. “Suppose I told you I was mistaken, and it was not your blow that did it after all?”

“I would believe you without question,” August replied, jokingly fervent.

“All right, stop there. If you two are going to plot to assault my prisoner, at least don’t do it in front of me,” Emma said, “I’m legally obligated to act if I know about it.”

“And if you don’t?” the Dark One asked, smirking.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it then, is there? I can’t be everywhere at once,” she said, shrugging and taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “On a totally unrelated topic, Friday is my movie night with Henry.”

“Emma,” Mary Margaret scolded, but she did not look terribly sincere. Emma had already mentioned that Hook insisted on flirting with her “like a creep”, and David had nodded, scowling, as she had said that.

“Sorry we’re late,” Belle said, “I got a late start on the cookies.”

“Not a problem. Put ‘em down over here,” Granny said, gesturing to where the desserts were set up.

“What kind did you make?” Henry asked.

“Gingerbread and chocolate-chocolate chip.”

“Nice!”

“Dinner first, kid,” Emma said, not getting up.

“Yes, Mom.”

It was a good party. August was at the center of the crowd, energetic in a way that Nova had never seen him before. Belle split her time between talking to people and sitting in a quiet booth with Rumplestiltskin. Mr. Dove and Marco, sometimes joined by Archie, stood off to the side, watching everything but saying little. Bae and Henry showed Anton the jukebox, and Eric and Ariel started dancing, followed quickly by David and Mary Margaret and then Belle and Rumplestiltskin (after some persuasion on Belle’s part), and then, eventually, Ruby and Anton.

Nova turned to Dreamy. “Will you dance with me?”

“Oh,” Dreamy looked away, “I don’t really know how to dance.”

“Neither do I, but it doesn’t look hard.” Especially the way Ruby and Anton were doing it; they were basically just swaying side to side. It looked nice.

“I know how to dance,” August volunteered.

Dreamy glared at him. “Back off, Booth,” he growled. Dreamy grabbed Nova’s hand and pulled her towards the dancers; August grinned and winked at her as they walked away.

It _was_ nice.

XxXxXxX

The door to Hook’s cell opened; it was Cora and Regina. “Ladies! To what do I owe this pleasurable visit?” Hook asked.

“Oh, poor Hook,” Cora said, “Look what they’ve done to your pretty face.”

“Yes, well, the crocodile’s not exactly known for his restraint.” He was honestly surprised that the boy had been able to call him off at all. And that the Dark One hadn’t come back later to finish the job.

Like Cora and the cricket had said, the crocodile seemed to have that pretty sheriff utterly convinced he’d turned over a new leaf. Hook was sure that the Dart One was just letting him sweat; he did like to play with his prey. _You should have killed me when you had the chance, crocodile._

Cora smiled. “Yes, dear Rumple has a bit of a temper. Not to worry, I have a plan.”

“And a job for me, I gather?” Cora was not the sentimental sort; if she didn’t need him for something, she would have left him to rot - and laughed about it.

“Oh, yes. But not to worry, Captain; you’ll like this. It seems Rumple has placed a spell on both me and Regina, preventing us from harming his son or that little tart. They’re the leverage we need, and you Captain, will be obtaining them for us.”

Hook frowned. “I’ll get you the girl; she’ll be enough. You saw how he reacted-” He owed it to Balefire to keep him out of this if he could. Not just for the business with Pan, but for calling the Dark One off. He hadn’t much appreciated the punch in the gut, but then he had trained the lad to be a pirate after all.

“You’re still alive,” Cora interrupted, “So obviously, she is not enough. Besides; I want the boy.”

“I’ll help you with the girl; it will be a pleasure. But I will not harm Milah’s son.” 

Cora immediately plunged her hand into his chest and ripped out his heart. “Yes, Captain, you will,” she said, still smiling.

He sighed. _Well, I bloody well should have seen that coming._

XxXxXxX

“So what do you want to do?” Tamara asked. She’d been able to convince Greg that his memories had been tampered with by showing him the photos and communications he’d sent her from Storybrooke. Now that they knew exactly what kind of magic this place had, but they needed a new plan of attack. Greg had obviously been made, or they wouldn’t have bothered with the memory wipe. And that guy from Hong Kong was there, so Tamara couldn’t just take his place. They’d discussed contacting the Home Office for help, but they were not tolerant of failure; the two of them had to complete the mission or Greg would be ‘disciplined’. Plus, this place was _theirs_ ; it was where everything had started for Greg, and Tamara was going to help him finish it.

“We need to go shopping,” Greg said, starting to sort equipment.

“What for?”

“We’re going camping.”

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin’s phone rang, and he sighed. After the events of the day, he’d been quite looking forward to his bed - with Belle in it, of course. Naturally, that meant some other crisis would manifest. “What can I do for you Sherriff?”

“This is just a heads up, actually. Hook escaped. Smee too.”

Rumplestiltskin growled. “I don’t suppose their effects are still at the Sherriff’s station?”

“Nope. I already checked; he cleaned me out. The guy’s thorough, even left me a note.”

“What does it say?”

“Nothing I want to repeat,” she replied, annoyed.

“That bad?” he asked, his eyebrows raised. He knew that Hook was an incorrigible letch, and seemed to have set his sights on Emma. He hoped that if the pirate ever did try to force the issue, that he would be there to witness it when the Savior put the wretch in the ground.

“I’m going to burn it before David sees it.”

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. “It’s a father’s prerogative to be protective of his child,” he said.

“Yeah, well, it’s my prerogative to keep my deputy from murdering someone,” she huffed. “Any ideas where Hook has gone? We already checked the ship.”

“I imagine he is with Cora, safe behind Regina’s blood wards. If he’d fled Storybrooke, he’d have taken his ship with him. If you like, I can try a tracking spell. He must be attached to some of the objects on the ship itself.”

“Worth a shot. If he is at Regina’s, are you sure there’s no way past those wards?”

“I’m afraid not; not without leveling everything in the surrounding area, at least.” _Do it. Kill them. Make these people fear you again._ “Unfortunately, we may just have to wait until Cora makes her next move. I’ll be there shortly.” 

Emma sighed. “Thanks, Gold.”

XxXxXxX

The tracking spell didn’t lead them to Regina’s; it didn’t lead them anywhere. “She’s warded him against it,” Gold said, frowning.

They raided Smee’s storage unit (Gold had evicted him from his apartment after the thing with Belle) and got the same results. “Damn. What do you think she’s planning?” Emma asked. “You know her, right?”

“I do. Cora has always had a singular goal: to rule. How she intends to use the pirates to accomplish that, I cannot say. Perhaps she intends them to steal magic beans for her? I’d hardly expect her to be satisfied with Storybrooke, after all.”

“All right. You’ll call me if you have any more ideas, right?”

“Of course, Sherriff.”

“‘Night, Gold.”

“Goodnight, Emma,” he said with a slight bow, then vanished.

_Maybe I should learn to do that._

Then she remembered that bit in Harry Potter where they talked about leaving pieces of yourself behind.

_Yeah, no._


	22. That Thing with Gaston

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains discussion of both institutionalized and internalized homophobia and violence towards homosexuals and others.

_The Enchanted Forest, many years ago…_

It had been a perilous journey, but the Dark Castle was now within Gaston’s sights. (Almost - the proprietor of the tavern had informed him that as soon as he took the road up the mountain, the castle would appear around the second bend… if the Dark One allowed it).

Gaston would not allow that monster to keep Belle as prisoner, servant, or, worse, bed-warmer. Belle was special. Belle was compassionate and resisted the old ways; she was the one woman Gaston believed he could marry without fearing that she would reveal his perversion to the court and the clerics.

Gaston knew that he had a sickness in his soul, but even if he had not feared the clerics’ wrath (he did; he had seen too many brave men broken by them not to fear their purification), to have it revealed to the court would be the ruin of his family. And, even more frightening, if anyone were to expect that his feelings for LeFou were anything more than friendship, he could be implicated as well. Gaston _would not_ allow that to happen. The sin was his, not LeFou’s.

His father knew, of course. They had never spoken directly of it, naturally, but it was the only reason he had allowed this quest. Gaston was the sole heir, and very valuable, but the broken engagement had sparked up certain rumors again; rumors that could not be allowed to persist. His father had scrambled to find another women of acceptable rank, but of the few he had found, Gaston was certain none would keep his secret as well or show him the compassion he knew Belle would. 

Gaston had gone to his father and argued that should he manage to rescue Belle from the Dark One, he would bring great honor to their marriage and to their kingdom - as James the Dragon-Slayer had done. And if he failed, he would have died without shame. His father had agreed with his reasoning. Gaston could not return without Belle on his arm and the Dark One’s head on his spear; this was his one chance to save himself and his family from dishonor and damnation.

And in his private moments, Gaston also wondered if Belle could save him from his perversion. The clerics called it a curse, and all the stories said that curses could be broken by True Love’s kiss. Gaston knew that Belle did not yet love him (nor, if he were honest with himself, did he truly love her), but she was the only woman he had ever been able to believe might be able to see past his curse and grow to love him.

“Hello,” a lyrical voice said from behind, startling Gaston out of his dark thoughts. He looked and saw a man that, in his perversion, he could not help but find beautiful. The man was young, with handsome features and thick hair not that different in color from Belle’s. “Mind if I sit?” he asked with a smile.

Gaston nodded to the stool next to him. “Of course; have a seat.”

The man ordered wine, which would have been odd if he were not so richly dressed. Of course, it was odd that such a richly dressed person would be in this humble tavern. _Unless…_ “Do you have business with the Dark One?”

The man smiled. “No, but from your question, I surmise that you do.”

“He stole my love away; I am here to rescue her.”

He smiled wider, and Gaston could not help but feel warmed by that smile in a way no woman’s smile had ever been able to affect him. “How brave. To challenge the Dark One is perilous indeed; should you succeed, your name would be known throughout the worlds.”

“That’s not why I am doing this. I love her.” It was not a lie, he assured himself, when he was certain that he could grow to.

“Well, in that case, I’d like to provide what aid I can.”

Gaston shook his head. “It is a matter of honor; I must face the beast alone.”

“I know, but perhaps you would wear this?” The man presented him with a small, golden medallion, embossed with the symbol of an ivy leaf. 

“What is it?”

“A magical token. It’s said that whoever wears it will always be reunited with whomever they truly love.”

“You would give me this?”

“Yes. I believe that you and your love will do great things for the Enchanted Forest, Sir Gaston; I want to help you.”

_I did not tell him my name._ Gaston looked at the stranger’s rich clothing again. “You’re a magic user.” It was the only explanation for why such a person would travel without an escort, especially so near to the Dark Castle.

He smiled again. “You’re more intelligent than the rumors say. Yes, I can work magic.”

“What is your name?”

“I’m afraid I cannot reveal that. But if you have faith that I want to help you, I promise you, Sir Gaston, that you and your love will be reunited, and in so doing, change the Enchanted Forest for the better.”

He had come this far on nothing but the hope that he could save Belle, and in turn, be saved. He smiled and took the token. “Thank you,” he said. “I will not fail.”

The man smiled again. “I know you won’t.”

XxXxXxX

_Present day…_

It was Friday night, and as far as August was concerned, it was time for a little celebration. Last night had been fun (more than he had expected it to be, even), but a potluck at Granny’s wasn’t really August’s idea of a party. It had been nice, but very white bread. Very… Disney.

Disney had its place, no doubt, but August needed something more exciting. Something with liquor, and dim lights, and people who didn’t judge.

He needed sex.

It had been seven months since August had so much as kissed someone, and still a bit high off the rush of becoming human again and beating up _Captain Fucking Hook_ , he wanted sex and he wanted it now. 

He’d felt a bit like an errant teenager as he’d told his father that he was going to the Rabbit Hole for a drink (not a lie - he fully intended to have a few drinks) and to not wait up. Papa had taken one look at him, smiled knowingly, and said, “Be safe, Pinocchio.”

“I will,” he’d said sheepishly. And he would. He knew his limits (even if he did not often respect them), and he was paranoid enough about catching something that he always used protection. (He’d told Henry once that he knew ‘bits and pieces’ of a dozen or so different languages; he’d never explained that he always started with the phrases “Where is the nearest bar?” and “Do you have a condom?”)

He’d been to the Rabbit Hole many times before the curse was broken, but this was his first time back in nearly four months. And, with everybody now remembering their real selves, it was literally a whole new crowd. They still seemed to remember him just fine, however.

“Hey, it’s the writer,” the bartender said. “Wasn’t sure we’d see you again. The usual?”

August sat down at the bar. “Sure.” The bartender served him a shot of tequila and a beer.

“What happened to your arm?”

August smirked. “Got into a fight with a pirate.”

“You win?”

“Well, he was trying to kill my friend, and he didn’t succeed, so I’m going to say… yes.” It sucked that Hook had gotten away, but now that Gold knew, August would let the Dark One deal with that little problem. He downed the shot, then settled in to enjoy his beer.

“So what kept you away? Had a family to find?”

“Oh, I found them. No, I had a bit of a… magic problem. It’s solved now, though.”

“So this is a celebration?”

“Exactly.”

“Excuse me,” a man said from behind him. August turned to look. _God damn, he’s pretty._ “I didn’t mean to overhear, but I do have to ask, the woman you saved, she was Belle of Avonlea?”

“Uh, yeah, though she doesn’t use the title here. Did you know her before the curse?”

“Yes. She was… my betrothed.” _Shit._ “May I sit?”

“It’s not my stool,” August said, shrugging. _This could be bad._

He sat. “I am Sir Gaston. Or… that was my name back there. You say you are her friend; may I ask… how is she?” He sounded sincere. Almost…hesitant.

This was not at all was August would have expected, but then he supposed it was unfair of him to judge the man based on one line in the Book and a movie that had made Rumplestiltskin a twenty-one-year-old hunk of a prince and an inanimate teacup Angela Lansbury’s son. And, _God, is he pretty._

August smiled. “She’s great. She, ah, had a tough time under the curse, but she’s really happy where she is right now. Loves the library; we’re opening next week. She’s really excited about it.”

Gaston smiled very slightly. “She does love books. I never understood it, but her mother was the same way.”

“You’re not a reader, then?”

He shook his head. “Do you know… They say the Dark One loves her... what do you say?”

_Oh, please, let him not be hung up on her; that could be bad. Very, very bad._ If ‘Sir Gaston’ was going to try another stunt like Maurice had, August was going to skip Emma and just call Gold directly. Belle had an awesome brain; he wasn’t going to let someone erase it. 

“I know it sound’s crazy, but he does. They’ve got the real deal, the two of them: True Love.”

“You know this for certain?”

August nodded. “Yeah, I do. I see them together every day, and you know that Book Henry Mills carries around?”

“They say it contains our stories.”

“It does; some of them anyway. I’ve read it. Their story is in there, True Love’s kiss and everything.”

He looked at the bar top. “I see,” he said dully, “That is well. I am glad for her.”

_Well, you really cocked this one up, didn’t you Disney?_ Then again, they’d apparently been just as wrong about Pan, and that one had been made while Walt was still alive. “So,” August asked, “What do you like to do?”

“I like to hunt,” he said. _Ok, they got something right - other than his looks._

“What kind of hunting?”

“All kinds, although I prefer big game. They say that the Council is working on removing the curse on the town line; I am hoping that they do so before moose season. I have a memory of killing one in high school; I would like to actually do it.”

“Uh, cool. What else to you remember killing?” 

Once Gaston got started on the subject of hunting, it was hard to get him to stop. August himself found the entire concept kind if creepy, but he was very good at acting interested, and as Gaston went on (and on), August was getting the distinct impression that Gaston’s lack of fixation on Belle might not just have been because of their lack of overlapping hobbies. So August started flirting with him, very subtly at first, and Gaston only grew more animated. 

_Aha._

He stepped it up a notch. Gaston responded. They had a couple more drinks, and August asked, “So, where do you keep all your trophies?”

“My apartment. Although they are a pale imitation of my real trophies. I slew a wyvern once with a single shot.”

“Impressive.” Gaston preened. “So… what exactly did the curse translate the wyvern into? Or wasn’t it a one to one thing; did Regina just leave a bunch of random taxidermy animals in your apartment?”

Gaston chuckled. “You have a strange mind.”

August shrugged. “Can’t argue with that,” he said jovially.

Suddenly, Gaston went quiet. He watched, sadly, as a short, stout man left the bar. August put a hand over his. “Something wrong? You know that guy?”

“My friend, LeFou; he is angry with me.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Gaston nodded. “He does not understand; I had no choice but to confront the Dark One.”

“You confronted Gold?” _Yeah, definitely a little dim._

“Yes,” he said wryly, “I believed that I could save Belle from him, and restore my family’s honor. And honor demanded that I do it alone.” August didn’t say so, but he had never bought the concept of ‘honor’. Mostly because it seemed to make people do stupid shit - _like confronting the Dark One alone. Or at all._

“What happened?” he asked. Obviously, things couldn’t have gone that badly if Gaston was still breathing.

“I’m not actually certain. I stated my challenge to the Dark One, and he cast some sort of spell over me. I knew no more until we all came to this world.”

“Woah. Freaky. You know, if you want, I could probably find out what he did.”

Gaston shook his head. “I prefer not to know. He was more merciful than I expected him to be if I failed. When I woke here, I thought…”

“What?”

He touched a small pendant he was wearing under his shirt but said, “Nothing; it does not matter. I cannot save Belle. And she cannot save me.”

August frowned, “Save you from what?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said again. “The clerics are gone, and the kingdoms in ashes.”

August suddenly felt a lot more sober. “Clerics?”

“Yes. Avonlea is… was home to their order.”

“These clerics, they wouldn’t happen to be the scourging and flaying type, would they?” _Well, they would have to be, wouldn’t they? Rumplestiltskin never would have bought Regina’s story otherwise._

“Yes,” Gaston said grimly. “Death at their hands was never swift.”

August felt sick. “And they were after you?”

Gaston looked away. “Not as such. But I have a taint in my soul. If they learned of it, for my family’s honor, I would have had to be cleansed.”

“OK, that’s… horrifying.”

Gaston shook his head. “It is how things are. Were.”

August leaned forward, and asked urgently, “Are you sure they’re not in town? If they could be here, doing that to people… we have to tell Emma.”

“They were killed. By the Dark One, my father thinks. He despairs of me now.” _You have a father? And he’d give you up like that? Holy fuck._

“Look, I don’t know what kind of problem your father thinks you have,” _please don’t be a serial killer,_ “But torture is wrong; I don’t care who you are.”

Gaston looked at his beer. “This land is so strange. It celebrates what I know to be perversion. And yet, society has not crumbled.”

_Oh. My. God._ “Perversion… you’re talking about being gay, aren’t you? Is that the ‘taint’ you think you have?”

Gaston tightened his jaw. “Such an innocuous name for such a dark thing.”

“Woah. No. There is nothing dark about being gay; the reason people have started celebrating in this world is because people are finally starting to get that. I’m going to let you in on something,” he said, leaning in closer. Looking terribly confused, Gaston leaned in too. “I like guys too. I’ve been with guys.”

Gaston’s jaw dropped. “You’ve been… why would you tell me this?”

“Because there’s nothing wrong with it.” August said. “And you said it yourself; people are starting to get that. And guess what? Society hasn’t crumbled; it’s gotten better. Because it’s not a taint; the real problem is when people treat it like it is.”

“You truly think so?”

August knocked his left foot against his stool to create the ‘thump’ of flesh rather than wood, but Gaston probably did not get the significance of that gesture. “Just think about it. In what possible universe are the people to who torture and murder people for who they love the good guys? And let me guess; if you had somehow managed to rescue Belle, they’d have wanted to ‘purify’ her, right?”

“I’d have protected her,” he objected.

“But they would have wanted to; that’s my point. A woman who sacrificed herself to the Dark One to save everyone, including them, from the ogres? Take my advice on this; disregard everything they told you, and everyone who agrees with what they did. There is nothing wrong with consenting guys having sex, and there’s nothing wrong with you.” After that declaration, August started to lean back, but Gaston stopped him with a (enticingly) strong grip. They shared a long look, and August saw twenty-something years of built-up sexual repression searching for an outlet.

Gaston kissed him. As kisses go, it was actually pretty terrible, but August was too far gone to care (much).

XxXxXxX

“Another hundred yards or so, and we’ll be inside the town line,” Greg said, checking the GPS on his phone one more time before turning it off. It wouldn’t do for any possible patrollers to see the light and come to investigate. The moonlight was enough for him to just vaguely make out where he was walking. “Watch your step.” They couldn’t afford for one of them to trip and break an ankle.

“Good,” Tamara said. “How far in do we need to get before I can put this pack down?” He couldn’t blame her. They couldn’t risk bringing a vehicle, so all of their equipment and supplies were split between the two of them. Greg’s shoulders were already aching, and he was sure Tamara’s were as well.

“Three miles will do it; that will put us in the deepest part of the woods. Remember they’re low on law enforcement; even if they are patrolling the border, they don’t have the manpower for random sweeps of the woods.”

“Excellent.”

_I’m coming, Dad._

XxXxXxX

As hangovers went, August had had far worse. A piss, some water, and a couple of aspirin (in that order) and he’d be just fine. His arm ached like hell, but it would have anyway, and the aspirin would help with that too. 

The only problem was that he couldn’t get up; Gaston was half on top of him, clinging like a kudzu. _Damn, he’s heavy. And strong._ Which could have made last night’s sex really interesting if Gaston possessed the slightest amount of imagination (or let August use his), but he didn’t (and hadn’t). Still, sex was sex, and after seven months, even Gaston’s fumbling had been, well… not ‘good’ per se, but better than nothing.

August glanced at Gaston’s alarm clock (the clock itself was actually cradled by a pair of antlers - _seriously, how does he not skewer his hand when he turns it off on the morning?_ ) and groaned. It was nearly six; if Papa wasn’t awake yet, he would be soon. Fortunately, the sound woke Gaston. Unfortunately, the taller man just tightened his grip and pulled August closer. “Gaston,” August said, “Let me up.”

“No,” he said, clumsily kissing his shoulder.

“Yes. Unless you want me to pee on you, and seriously, I am not into that. Besides, I have to get home.”

“Stay with me.”

“No. My father will be wondering where I am. And I have to help him finish the wall sculpture for the library; we promised Belle it would be ready for the opening next week. You really want me to break a promise to the Dark One’s girl?”

Gaston sighed mightily. “I understand; you are honor bound.”

“Yes, exactly. Let me up.”

Gaston finally released his grip, blinking at him sleepily and grinning. _Well, at least it looks like it was good for you._ But that wasn’t really fair; Gaston was inexperienced, and had over two-decades of enforced hang-ups to work through. August had known what he’d been signing up for having sex with him, and he wouldn’t say he regretted it. He just wasn’t in a hurry to do it again.

“All right if I wash up?” With the bandage on his arm, he’d have to wait until he got home to take a proper shower, but no way was he facing his father smelling like stale beer and sex. 

“Certainly,” Gaston said.

“Thanks.” August gathered up his clothing. Gaston watched him, lounging on one upturned arm and grinning. Almost instinctively, August gave him a flirtatious smile. _That’s right, big guy; you got laid. Pretty great, huh?_ August went into the bathroom. It contained no less that three more sets of antlers and a mounted, taxidermy duck. There was also a framed set of photos on the wall of Gaston posing with various dead animals. The corner of the mat was signed, “Gary, you’re the greatest! Happy Birthday! - Louis.”

After washing up, he drank a couple of handfuls of water from the sink then took a double dose of aspirin; that would take the edge off the pain in his arm and head. But what was he going to tell his father? _Sorry I didn’t call; I slept over at a friend’s house?_ August sighed.

Gaston was sitting on the edge of the bed when he got out of the bathroom. Completely nude. August admired the view for a moment, then shook his head (carefully). “I’ll see you around, all right?”

Gaston grinned, “Of course you will.”

August made it ten steps out of Gaston’s building before he was stopped by someone. Not, not just someone - LeFou. “Um, can I help you?” he asked. The morning sun was doing nothing for his headache.

“Are you working for the Dark One?” LeFou asked suspiciously.

“What? No.”

LeFou frowned, glancing up at Gaston’s apartment. “Is he all right?”

August sorted through what Gaston had told him last night. He’d said LeFou was angry that he’d left him behind when he’d gone to confront Rumplestiltskin. _Hm._ “He’s fine. Random question - are you Louis?”

“It’s pronounced Lou _ie_. He… mentioned me?” he asked, hopeful. _Aha._

“I saw the photos you gave him. Or the curse gave him. Whatever. Look, um, why don’t you just go up and talk to him?”

“Oh, I can’t do that.”

“Sure you can; he was upset when you left last night. He thinks you’re angry with him.”

“I’m not angry with him! Why would I be angry with him?” He was kind of twitchy; _I guess Disney go that part right._

“Whatever; I have to go. Just, go talk to him yourself if you want to see if he’s all right.”

“You’re not good enough for him,” LeFou said, suddenly nasty. _Ugh, jealousy._

“No argument here,” August said, shrugging. Even if August were the kind of guy to fight for a lover (and he wasn’t), that lover would definitely not be Gaston. “Seriously, go for it; he’s all yours.”

But LeFou just watched, frowning, as August walked away. _Weirdo._

XxXxXxX

Gold got the final barrier up on Saturday afternoon, so that was something. He’d also thought to ask Ariel to retrieve some squid ink for them, which, he said, would incapacitate even Cora long enough to get her into the cell. But Ariel had said it would take a few days (she’d be getting it straight from the source, apparently) and even then, it would be useless as long as they couldn’t get to Cora (or Regina - or even figure out where Hook might possibly be).

And every day Henry got a little more subdued. He was relieved, of course, that Regina hadn’t killed Archie, but now she’d teamed up with the people who’d kidnapped and tortured him. Anton had made it pretty clear that Regina was a willing participant in what Cora was doing.

_Whatever she is doing._

Emma had honestly expected a lot more murder and mayhem by this point, but Anton aside, Cora seemed to be laying low. She was plotting something - something big. _But what?_

XxXxXxX

August was pretty sure that LeFou was stalking him. He’d been at the grocery store when he and Papa had gone on Saturday afternoon, and he was hanging around when August went to get take-out from Granny’s on Sunday (Papa was in that zone where was so focused on a project that he’d forget to do basic stuff like eat, and August’s culinary skills began with toast and ended with peanut butter toast).

August made a beeline to the counter. Say what you would about Granny, she tolerated no shit in her diner. She rolled her eyes at his most charming smile, but did take his order. It was the Sunday lunch rush, so she told him it would be a few minutes.

“That’s fine,” he said.

“August!” Belle called. She was in a corner booth with Bae and Rumplestiltskin. Absolute Watchmen was sticking out of her purse. He was actually kind of impressed it fit at all; it was a large book. _The better to beat up pirates with._ He grinned.

“Hey,” he said. He nodded towards the book. “So you started reading it?” 

She’d shown it to him on Friday, asking about repairing the dents Hook’s skull had left in the spine. They hadn’t compromised the integrity of the binding, so he’d argued to keep them. “Rorschach would be proud,” he’d said, which had spurred a discussion about the book itself. Belle hadn’t read it yet, but she’d promised to.

“Oh, I finished it,” she said, “I wanted to show it to Rumple.”

“What do you think?” he asked, taking a seat next to Bae.

“It’s very interesting in the way it tells the story…” she said carefully.

“I’m sensing a ‘but’, here.” He just hoped it wasn’t Dr. Manhattan’s nudity. With everything else in that book, it drove him nuts when people got fixated on that. There was a specific, character-driven reason why Dr. Manhattan didn’t wear clothes, and he thought Belle of all people would have picked up on it.

“No, not a ‘but’,” she said, “It’s just…” she looked down, and Gold glared at him in a way that made August more than a little nervous. “I’m not sure who the hero is supposed to be,” she confessed. 

He shook his head, smiling. “Oh, that, yes. It’s meant to be ambiguous; that’s the point. Who you end up rooting for - if anyone - depends on your own point of view. That’s why I like it,” he said, “It doesn’t preach.”

“Oh, I see,” she said. “I was afraid I was missing something.” With how brilliant she was and how quickly she was adapting, it was often easy to forget that Belle didn’t get the same background curse memories as everyone else. But every now and then, especially with something that completely defied the conventions of the Enchanted Forest (like Watchmen - _or condoms_ ), she’d stumble.

“Nope. I mean, it’s the kind of book you’ve got to read several times to really get everything, but the larger question of who’s the hero is really left up to you - which is a pretty revolutionary thing for the superhero genre.”

That sparked a larger discussion with Belle actually laying the book out on the table to ask about a particular sequence. Engrossed in the conversation, August didn’t notice Gaston walking up to them until his shadow fell across the pages. “Uh, hi, Gaston,” August said. Belle and Gold immediately tensed, and Bae looked at him curiously. “What a pleasant surprise.” 

Gaston grinned. _Uh oh._ “Isn’t it - why isn’t that man wearing pants?” he asked, looking at the open book on the table.

August sighed. “That’s Dr. Manhattan. He receives superpowers that put him so profoundly beyond the level of a normal human that over time his connection to humanity crumbles and he doesn’t see the need for basic social conventions, like pants.”

Gaston blinked. “That doesn’t make sense. This looks like a comic book - isn’t it for children?”

August sighed. “Not all comics are for children. Did you need something?”

“Marry me.” If August had been a robotic AI instead of a magical one, he was sure that would have blown a fuse. He stared.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Marry me! It’s legal in New Hampshire; when the curse on the town line is lifted, we can get married there.” _And I could get married to Granny here, but that’s not going to happen either._ “You were right; there is no shame in loving other men. Everyone!” he announced to the diner at large, “I’m gay!”

“Yeah, kinda guessed that when you proposed to Booth,” Leory said. “So what’s your answer, Booth - yes or no?” Leroy was grinning, and August glared. Nova looked terribly confused. And LeFou was standing in the corner looking like someone had murdered his puppy and then given him the stuffed remains as a Christmas present. _Ah ha._

“Gaston, I… I just don’t deserve you-”

“That’s all right! I’ll teach you to hunt.”

August stared for a minute before continuing, “I don’t like guns.”

“Bow season, then.”

“I’m a vegetarian.” Actually, August was a pescatarian, but people didn’t tend to know what that was, so he usually just told people he was a vegetarian. 

“You… only eat vegetables?”

August sighed. “No. I just don’t eat meat.”

Now Gaston stared. “What? Why?”

“I don’t know you well enough to get into that.”

“You must have just never had wild game before,” Gaston said, nodding to himself.

“That is not actually true… and really not the issue. Listen-”

“That can’t be healthy-”

“Listen!” That seemed the get his attention. “The real reason I can’t marry you is because there is someone else-”

“Someone else?” he asked, frowning. _And he’s jealous too. Fuck, I have got to lay off the tequila._

“-for you.”

Gaston furrowed his brow and looked, confused, at Belle, who shook her head decisively. Gold growled and put a hand on her back; Gaston took a step back. “Not Belle,” August said hastily. “LeFou.”

“LeFou? That can’t be-”

“Look, LeFou isn’t angry with you; he’s in love with you. That was why he was upset that you went after Rumplestiltskin alone.”

“He… truly?” August had been desperately hoping that Gaston’s moping over LeFou had been the result of reciprocation rather than some other issue; _thank you, God, I was right._

“Yes, Gaston. He’s right there; go talk to him.”

If Lefou’s eyes got any bigger or shiner, August was sure he would morph into an actual, real-life chibi. Gaston gave him one of those love-filled gazes that Disney wrote songs about, but somehow still looked torn. _I don’t love you, you moron; he loves you. Leave me alone!_ “Gaston,” Belle said, and August could have kissed her for it, “Go to him.”

_Thank you,_ August mouthed to her, while Gaston gazed at Lefou. “You truly release me?” Gaston asked August.

“Yes,” he replied fervently. 

“But you gave yourself to me.” The crowd tittered and August considered banging his head on the table. _I “give myself” to a lot of people. It was a one-night stand, you idiot!_

“Gaston, we made no promises; I expect nothing from you. You owe LeFou a lot more than you owe me.”

Gaston nodded, resolute. “You are right. Thank you, August. You are a good man.”

“Thank you. Go on, now,” he said, keeping his voice carefully steady. _And get the hell away from me._

Gaston walked up to LeFou, the entire diner riveted by the scene. “LeFou,” Gaston said.

“Gaston,” Lefou replied, tearfully.

“Was August correct? Do you love me?”

LeFou nodded in that jerky, enthusiastic way his cartoon self was known for. “Yes,” he said tearfully. “I know you can’t possibly-”

Gaston grabbed LeFou by the lapel and kissed him forcefully. Someone whistled and started clapping, followed by most of the rest of the diner. August saw a few glowering faces, but overall schlocky romance seemed an easy sell in Storybrooke regardless of the gender of the participants. He clapped too.

“All right, all right,” Granny said, “Nothing to see here, everyone get back to your meals.” Grinning, Gaston actually waved to the crowd before dragging LeFou out of the diner.

As the crowed settled down (although as the only remaining participant in their little soap opera, August was still getting more than a few stares), he turned to Belle. “Well,” he said, wryly, “Really dodged a bullet there, didn’t you?”

“I had no idea,” she said. “In Avonlea…”

“They kill you for that? Yeah, he told me. That’s why he came after you; he thought you could save him. And I guess you did, so, happy endings for everyone!” 

But Belle only looked confused. “He came after me?” Belle asked Rumplestiltskin. _Oh. Uh oh._

“Yes. As you see, I did not harm him,” Gold assured her, a little too hastily.

“What did he do to him?” Bae asked August tiredly. _Shit._

“Um… Gaston doesn’t actually remember, and he doesn’t really care.” _‘Care’, ‘care to know’, same thing really._ August tapped his left foot against the floor.

“He doesn’t?” Bae asked incredulously.

“That’s what he said,” August said, shrugging. “I mean, he blacked out and woke up here, in a land that has guns and no ogres and legal protections for gay people; I wouldn’t ask questions either.”

Belle looked at the table. “What did you do to him?” she asked Gold quietly.

Gold shifted nervously, but admitted, “I turned him into a flower.” 

She looked up sharply. “The rose you gave me? The one that never wilted?” Clenching his jaw, Gold nodded. _The rose from the movie? That was Gaston? That’s… actually hilarious._ But an upset Belle - and especially an upset Dark One - was not.

“Belle, this was the best possible outcome for Gaston-” August pointed out.

“You lied to me,” she said quietly. _Oh. Oh, damn, Gold._

“I’m… just going to give you guys some privacy,” August said, getting out of the booth. He didn’t do drama, especially Dark One drama. 

Gold narrowed his eyes at him, but nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the library,” Belle said, her face tense.

“Yeah,” August said, “I’ll be there.” He didn’t look back, although he heard them talking in low tones. _Shit._

His order was ready, so he paid and left, Granny eyeing him inscrutably.

And now he had to figure out how to explain to his father that he was into guys as much as girls.

_Fucking Gaston._

XxXxXxX

“Why did you lie to me?” Belle asked. That rose had meant a lot to her. She’d been disappointed when she’d been unable to find it in either the house or Rumple’s shop, and it had been Gaston the whole time!

“Can we discuss this elsewhere?” People were watching them. More importantly, Bae was watching them; she didn’t want to fight with Rumple in front of his son.

“Fine; let’s go home.” They were nearly done eating anyway, and he always took Sunday afternoon off from his shop. She closed Watchmen and put it back in the sleeve, but decided to carry it instead of putting it in her purse. Bae grabbed his backpack. Without a word, Rumple pulled out his wallet and left a pile of bills on the table. Ruby gave her a sympathetic look as they left.

The walk back to the house was silent. Rumple kept his gaze on the sidewalk in front of him, and Bae’s shoulders were hunched in that way she’d already seen far too often.

_Should I have said anything at all in front of him?_ He and Rumple had just started to get to rebuild what they had had, and it seemed unfair to undermine it over something that had ultimately worked out so well in Gaston’s favor. Compared to everything Rumple had done, lying to her about the rose was such a small thing, but it was important to her, and worse, he’d had plenty of chances to come clean. She’d mentioned the rose since finding him again and had asked about the fate of Avonlea’s people, but he had never admitted the truth of the matter.

And he had told her other things. He’d told her the truth about how he injured his leg - _or did he?_ She’d never doubted anything he had told her since they had come to this world, but should she have? As they walked, she realized that that was the main source of her anger; it was not merely that he had lied about the rose, but that it made her doubt the other things - important things - that he had told her. She knew that he sometimes (all right, often) avoided the truth, but this was the first time that he’d outright lied to her.

When they got home, Bae immediately went up to his room. Rumple watched him go, an agonized look on his face. His expression did not change when he turned to her, and he could not meet her eyes. “Will you leave?” he asked quietly.

“What?” _Leave? Is that what he thinks of me?_ He clenched his jaw but said nothing. “Why do you think I would leave?” And then something horrible occurred to her,” Do you want me to leave?”

“No!” he said, looking at her at last. “But, Belle, I…”

“You what?”

He closed his eyes briefly. “I can’t be the man you deserve,” he said, his voice tight. 

“Yes, you can! You just need to be honest with me! Why didn’t you tell me about Gaston? Why did you lie?”

“Because… you’d have pled for his release.”

“Of course I would have!”

“He’d have taken you,” he said quietly.

“I wouldn’t have gone! I gave you my word!” He looked away. “Why can’t you believe in me?” she asked.

“I do!” he said, startled.

“No, you don’t. You keep expecting me to leave. You still… do you even believe me when I say I love you?”

“Yes, I…”

He was looking at her helplessly. “No,” she realized, “No, you don’t.”

“I’m a monster, Belle-”

“No! No, you’re not! How can you say that?”

“Because it’s true! If you knew only a fraction of what I’ve done…” He covered his face with his hand.

“What? I’d leave? I know what you’ve done, Rumple. I know you’ve killed,” she said quietly, “I know you’ve hurt people. But I also know that you can be a good man.” He shook his head. “Yes! Yes, you can! Look at what you’ve done since you found your son! You rescued Henry from Regina, you’re protecting everyone from Pan-”

“I am protecting Bae from Pan. And myself,” he muttered.

“What do you mean? What haven’t you told me about Pan?” _First Cora, then Gaston, now Pan? What else is he hiding from me?_ He sat heavily on the stairs, still refusing to meet her eyes. “Rumple,” she said, crouching down next to him, “Do you love me?”

Now, he looked at her. “Yes!”

“Then trust me,” she pleaded.

“Belle,” he said tearfully. 

“Trust me,” she said again.

“There’s a prophecy,” he began.

“About Pan?”

“About me. And Henry.” He took a deep breath. “A Seer told me once, long ago, that I would find my son. That a young boy would lead me to him, and that… that boy would be my undoing. When Bae told us about Pan searching for Henry, I realized how the prophecy was meant to happen. Don’t you see, Belle? The only reason I’ve been protecting Henry is to protect myself.”

“That’s not true,” Belle said.

“Yes it is.”

“No, it’s not. If you only cared about yourself, Rumple, you could have taken Henry’s heart and destroyed it so that Pan could never use it.”

“Bae would never forgive that.”

“So you’ve thought about it.” He looked away in shame. “And decided against it,” she continued. “A monster would not have done that. A monster would not love his son as much as you love Bae. A monster would not love me. You’ve come so far, Rumple, but please, I need you to let me in. Is there anything else you haven’t told me? About Avonlea? About my father?”

“I did nothing to your father save call in a loan owed.” She sighed in relief, but would be asking him the details later. Then he said, “I killed the clerics. Regina led me to believe that they had killed you.”

“I see.” She knew that the clerics had not been kind; she knew, even, that her father had considered them quite dangerous and had been trying to impose limits on them with little success (especially as the ogres advanced, and his attention had fallen to more immediate concerns). “Thank you for telling me.”

“And I…”

“Yes?”

“I intended to kill Gaston.”

She looked sharply at him. “When?”

“When he came for you. He possesses a powerful amulet of protection; it preserved his life when I transformed him.”

She closed her eyes. “And now? Will you do anything to him?”

He looked at her, uncomprehending. “He’s been no threat.”

_He was no threat before._ But that was not necessarily true. Gaston had been no threat to Rumple, certainly, but he had hardly been a saint. It seemed that he had improved himself, as Belle had always hoped he’d be able to; it wouldn’t be fair now to punish him for his past transgressions simply because she’d been reminded of them, and it wasn’t fair to do the same to Rumple. She’d asked for the truth and he’d given it; he’d never trust her if she threw that in his face.

Her silence as she considered this spurred Rumple to speak. “I’m sorry, Belle. I just… I don’t know how to be the man you deserve.”

She smiled sadly and took his hand. “What you did just now? Keep doing that.” She could only hope that he would.


	23. Call, Raise, Fold

The timing had to be exact. 

Baelfire had already proven himself willing and able to summon Rumple in a moment, and Cora’s first thought - using magic to steal his voice (and the maid’s) - was impossible as long as Rumple’s enchantment held. 

Instead, she created a pair of enchanted wrist cuffs out of a set of manacles that Regina had stashed away in her vault. Rumple’s spell would not prevent them from stealing Belle and Baelfire’s voices, just as long as someone other than Cora or Regina got them on. 

That was where Hook and his crew came in. Smee seemed useful enough, if a bit dim, and Pintel and Ragetti were easy to bribe (Dear Snow’s prison was filling up fast, and so the two pirates had been held for three days and then fined as punishment for abetting Hook’s earlier attempt on the girl; they were eager to earn back the gold they had lost.) Between the four of them, they could capture the boy and the girl, and then Cora would have the leverage she needed to get the dagger.

Just as long as they got those cuffs on before they were able to get Rumple’s (or the heroes’) attention. Towards that end, she and Regina were planning a couple of distractions. Cora was looking forward to it. 

XxXxXxX

The shop’s phone rang. Rumplestiltskin answered it. “Gold’s Antiques,” he said with irony.

“Hello, Rumple.”

He sneered. “Cora. Enjoying the twenty-first century? I see you’ve learned how to operate a telephone.”

“Well, I would have preferred to see you in person, but you’ve placed blood wards on your shop. Will you let me in?”

He laughed. “What do you want, Cora?”

“I want a truce.”

“Then you should not have attacked my son.”

“That was rash, I admit-”

“It was fatal. I warned you, Cora; you should have taken Regina and run. What are you doing with the pirates?”

“Jealous?” she asked teasingly.

“Hardly. I had them exactly where I wanted them.” Or close enough. Killing Hook and turning Smee into something small and scurrying would have been his preference, of course, but the cells under the hospital had been a tolerable alternative. Hook couldn’t suffer if he was dead, after all, and Rumplestiltskin would have made sure that that cell broke him eventually.

“Are you certain? This wouldn’t be the first time dear Killian stole a woman from you.”

_Kill him. Kill HER._ “You flatter yourself, dearie. Perhaps he should try rooting through my garbage cans, next.”

He could _feel_ her anger over the phone; he smiled. “Now, that’s not very nice,” she said. “There’s no reason we can’t be civilized about this.”

“Yes, dearie, there is. I’ve told you that already, more than once. You attacked my son and sent your little pet after Belle; we are at war now.”

“That’s unfortunate. I do miss you, Rumple.”

He closed his eyes. She was playing him, and he knew it. He hated her, and he wanted her dead, but still there was that pathetic, little part of him that wanted to believe that she really did love him once. “You made your choice, Cora.”

“And there is no room in your heart for forgiveness? You did love me once.”

“If you know what happened to my wife, Cora you know there is one thing that I do not forgive; I do not forgive people who hurt my son.”

“I see. I’m sorry it’s come to this, Rumple.”

He could offer her one last piece of honesty. “So am I.”

XxXxXxX

“Regina, what are you doing here?” Miss Swan demanded. Regina smiled. Oh, it felt good to assert herself again.

“Trying to make sense of the mess your mother has made of my town. You know, with all the training she had, she should have been able to do a better job than this,” she said disparagingly. “Look at how much money she let Rumple siphon off for his little maid’s library project.” She waved the relevant documents in the blonde’s face.

Miss Swan rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Regina, what are you doing? What are you and Cora planning? Whatever it is, it’s only going drive Henry further away from you.”

“Oh, Miss Swan, so sure of yourself, and yet, so wrong. I am ensuring Henry’s future. One day, he’ll thank me for it.”

“Like you thanked your mom? She killed Daniel; did you thank her for that?”

“Don’t talk about what you don’t understand! You don’t know what it’s like to be a mother. Or to have one.”

She frowned, and Regina knew she had hit her mark. “At least none of my foster parents killed my true love in front of me. I got a raw deal, Regina, but I got a better one than you.”

Regina laughed. “You got a selfish puppet who left you and sent you to jail and a parade of strangers who didn’t give a damn. You don’t even know what a real parent looks like.”

“What are you doing here, Regina?” she asked again.

“As I said, just checking in,” she said, smiling. “I want to know what kind of mess I’ll be cleaning up once I’m Mayor again.”

“That’s your plan? You’re going to try to take back the town? Not gonna happen, Regina.”

“Oh, Miss Swann,” she said, shaking her head. “You think too small.” Then, she summoned a magical wind that showered Miss Swan with paperwork while she teleported (to use Henry’s phrasing) herself away.

XxXxXxX

The capture had gone off without a hitch. Regina had supplied keys to what was called a “fire door” in this world (simply a back door, as far as Hook was concerned), and they’d gotten in, knocked Baelfire and the girl out with sleeping powder, got the cuffs on, and taken them back out the door before the Dark One had noticed.

Regina had arranged a place for them to hide the prisoners in a warehouse by the docks. At the very least, Hook supposed, he’d be able to smell the ocean.

XxXxXxX

Cora’s call had been deeply unsettling. Rumplestiltskin knew that his spell on Cora and Regina would hold, and that Bae and Belle could summon him if needed (and he had enough confidence now that they would, if only because they would not take chances with each-other’ safety), but he could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Well, they had asked for honesty. They could not complain that he was smothering them if he now walked over to tell them about Cora’s call.

He sneezed as he opened the door to the library, and he knew immediately that his fears had been correct. _Sleeping powder._ “BAE!? BELLE!?” he shouted desperately. There was a toppled stack of books at Bae’s usual table and the building was dead silent.

“CORA!”

“Yes?” she asked mockingly. At some point, she’d learned to transport herself without the telltale red smoke.

“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THEM?”

“They’re safe. For now. If you want them to remain that way, I’m afraid I’m going to need something from you.”

“What do you want?” he snarled.

“Oh, I think you know,” she said teasingly. “And I suggest you not do that,” she said, as he raised a hand to strike her down, “Unless you’d like dear Hook to finish what he started.”

“That’s why you needed the pirates,” he said. _Stupid! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!_

She smiled. “Indeed. The dagger, Rumple, the dagger for your son and the little maid.”

He snorted. “We both know that if I give you that dagger, you’ll order me to kill them just because you can.”

“Well, if you’d rather Hook kill them now…”

“No!” She smiled again, and not since Hordor had he longed to kill anyone as much as Cora at this moment. “I will give you the dagger once they are safe. You know I never break my deals.”

“Fine, I’ll have Hook take them across the town line.”

“And rob them of their memories, so that they’ll never see your pirate coming? I think not, Cora.”

“Then what do you propose? I’m not about to wait for the giant to grow some beans for you.”

He scrambled for an alternative, thinking only of, “Jefferson.”

“Ah, the Hatter. Fair enough. Once the Hatter has taken them to a realm of his choosing, you will surrender the dagger to me. I have your word on that, as the Dark One?”

_You know what she is going to do. She will kill you and take your power. Will you give up everything for them? Your very life?_

_YES!_

“You do.”

Her smile sickened him. “Then the deal is struck.”

XxXxXxX

“I’m calling in my favor, Jefferson,” Rumplestiltskin said, and the Hatter knew that the Dark One had been outplayed. _But who? Ace beats queen. A pair of queens? Damn._

Jefferson had heard that the Queen of Hearts was in town, had even made preparations to leave, but Grace had begged him not to. And after the last time, he couldn’t go against her wishes. _If wishes were horses, it’s time for the drawing and quartering._

“Nothing that separates me from Grace or put her in danger,” the Hatter reminded the Dark One. 

“I remember. This is the safest option for her; Storybrooke will have a new Dark One soon, and she is not fond of you.”

_Oh yes, outplayed indeed._ “A black queen or a red one?” 

“The Queen of Hearts, with her daughter by her side. Believe me, Jefferson, now is the time to take your daughter and run.” 

“And the favor?”

“You’ll be taking two passengers.”

“Your Belle and your Baelfire?”

“Yes.”

“No return trip,” he said. “Not negotiable.”

Rumplestiltskin smiled, brittle like a shattered looking glass. “I will burn the hat behind you.”

“Yes, you will.”

XxXxXxX

“Hello?” Nova called. She’d arrived at the library at her usual time (she now had the hang of the routine at the animal shelter, and so was on time more often than not), and while the door was open and the lights were on, she did not see either Bae or Belle anywhere. Bae had left a fallen tower books on the table, a few even scattered on the floor. _That’s not like him._ “Belle? Bae?”

After Hook’s attack and Cora setting Anton on the town, Nova knew better than to wait; she called Belle. Her friend didn’t pick up, so she called the Sherriff. “Nova, something wrong at the library?” Emma asked immediately. Nova was used to her abrupt manner by now; she had a lot in common with Dreamy that way, actually.

“Yes. Bae and Belle are missing. I can see that they were here earlier, but they’re gone, and Belle is not answering her phone. With Cora on the loose…”

“Of course. Are you still at the library?”

“Yes.”

“Stay there.”

“Should I call Mr. Gold?”

“I will, but I’m betting he already knows. Regina was at the Town Hall just a little while ago, implying they were about to make their move. They’d have to neutralize Gold somehow to have a prayer; Bae and Belle must be their leverage.”

Nova felt sick. “Is there anything else I can do?”

“You got your wand?”

“Yes.” _For all the good it will do._

“Good. Call Leroy; I think we’re going to need the troops for this one.”

Nova nodded. “I will.”

“We’ll stop them,” Emma said.

“Yes,” Nova replied without thinking. Emma hung up.

Nova had never been to war. Without a wand, she hadn’t been considered useful enough to join the assault on King George’s castle. But Belle and Bae were her friends. _I wanted to be a Fairy Godmother; this is what that means._ She dialed Dreamy.

XxXxXxX  
_  
Damn it._

Emma was not surprised when Gold did not answer his phone. She called David. “Cora and Regina have made their move,” she said.

“Where?”

“The library. They’ve kidnapped Bae and Belle - must be how they planned to keep Gold out of the way.”

“Of course,” David muttered. “I’m on my way. I’ll call Mary Margaret; Henry shouldn’t be out in the open.”

“Right. Nova’s getting the dwarves. I’m calling Ruby next; I’ve got some tracking potion left, but Cora and Regina can block it. She’ll be our backup if it doesn’t work.”

“Got it. I can be at the library in five minutes.”

“Meet you there.” She hung up. It occurred to Emma that this would be the first time she went up against a magical bad guy without Gold at least peripherally backing her up. _I guess the training wheels had to come off eventually._

Her expression grim, she called Ruby.

XxXxXxX

August was half way to the library when his phone started playing the Wonder Woman theme (season 2). “Mary Margaret, hi,” he said.

“Hello, August. We have a bit of an emergency; I’m going to need you to come to the loft to watch Henry.”

“OK. What happened?”

“We think Cora and Regina have abducted Bae and Belle. Emma thinks it’s to keep Rumplestiltskin from taking sides.”

“Or they want him on theirs. If they ransom Bae and Belle for the dagger, they’ll command the Dark One.” _And we’re screwed._

“We won’t let that happen. We’ve got everyone behind us; I just need you to stay with Henry so I can join them.” 

“Of course; I’ll be there in two minutes.”

“Bye, August.”

_They’re really calling the A team and the B team if they’re falling back on me as Henry’s babysitter._ Still, it was a way to help that didn’t require his getting involved in the battle itself. The incident with Hook had been bad enough; in a fight against Cora and Regina, August would be worse than useless.

_Stay safe, guys._

XxXxXxX

Regina looked up as Mother appeared. “How did it go?”

“Swimmingly. He’ll give us the dagger as soon as the Hatter has sent the boy and the girl on their way. I honestly expected him to be more reluctant, but the poor dear was practically panicking.”

Regina smiled wickedly. “They are his weakness.”

“They are indeed. You two,” she said to Pintel and Ragetti. “Come here.” They exchanged a look, but stepped forward.

“Your majesty?” Ragetti asked a little nervously. He’d called Mother Ma’am the first time they had met; Mother had made sure that he would not make that mistake again.

“You’re going on a little trip.” Mother gestured, and the pirates transformed into perfect replicas of Belle and Baelfire. Regina smiled, but then had second thoughts.

“What are you planning to do with the real ones?” Regina asked. “Henry and Baelfire are friends.”

“They can be friends still, as long as Rumple and the boy behave. You said it yourself; they are his weakness. Never cede the advantage, Regina; I’ve taught you that.”

She nodded. The last time she’d thought Rumple had been beaten, he’d been exactly where he wanted to be and had played her like the master puppeteer that he was. She wouldn’t be so overconfident again, not with Henry’s safety on the line. “You’re right, Mother.”

Mother smiled. “Of course I am, dear.”

XxXxXxX

Emma looked up as Mary Margaret came in. “August is with Henry?”

“Yes; safe behind the wards.”

“We’re ready to move, then. Let’s see if this potion works.” They tried it on one of Bae’s pencils; he’d told Nova at one point that his father had given them to him as a birthday present. But apparently Cora and Regina had thought to block the potion; the pencil didn’t respond. 

“Damn,” Emma said. “You want to try your thing, Ruby?”

She nodded. “I know Belle’s perfume, and I think I’m smelling something else. Ocean?”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “Hook?” It would explain his miraculous escape.

“Could be. Give me a minute.” Ruby wandered off into the stacks, and Emma was about to follow her when Nova spotted a sweater on the circulation desk. _Who wears a sweater in July?_

“Why don’t you try this?” Nova asked. “It belongs to Rumplestiltskin. It’s um… special to him. He likes it when Belle wears it.” She was blushing. Fortunately, Emma did not need her to elaborate. August had shared with her his theory that Gold had a fetish for seeing Belle in his clothes; apparently, he’d shared it with Nova too. _Stop traumatizing the nun, August._ God knew Emma had been traumatized by her friend’s speculation about the Dark One’s sex life, and she seemed to be one of the few people in town who actually understood the concept of a one-night-stand.

“Worth a shot,” Emma said. Amazingly, it worked. Emma held on to one sleeve to keep it from getting away, as she asked Mary Margaret to get Ruby.

Ruby had had some luck too; she’d tracked them out the fire door, and was confident that she could follow the trail through town. The difficulty was that Ruby’s nose was leading them in a different direction than Gold’s sweater. Well, there were twelve of them after all. “Nova, Leroy, go with Ruby,” Emma said, “The rest of you with me. We know Gold will go after Cora. If we can help him keep her distracted, the three of you can get Bae and Belle out of there.”

“You’ve got it, sister,” Leroy said. She’d feel better if he had a gun, but she hadn’t had cause to doubt his axe before now. She had to remember that he was a veteran of magical warfare - Ruby too.

“You up for this, Nova?” Emma asked. 

Nova nodded, resolute. “Yes.”

“Then let’s move out.”

Nova and Leroy followed Ruby towards the docks. Emma led the rest of them towards the woods. Cora had terrorized the town long enough.

_Time to finish this._

XxXxXxX

Belle came to slowly, her head aching from whatever she’d been drugged with. Her hands were bound behind her, and her ankles were tied too, in what Belle recognized as sailor’s knots. She shivered, reminded far to clearly of her time in the hospital, an impression that was only strengthened by the dank cinderblock walls around them. But there was a difference; this time, she wasn’t alone.

She called out to Bae. Or she tried to - no sound came out of her mouth. _Rumplestiltskin!_ But unable to voice his name, she couldn’t summon him. _Cora._ Belle had to fight off panic; at least in the hospital, she could scream if she wanted.

Bae started to stir, but like Belle, no sound came out when he tried to speak. _I have to protect Bae._ She clung to that; if she focused on saving Bae, she wouldn’t think about the hospital. _Do the brave thing._

Bae looked at her. _Cora’s taken our voices,_ she mouthed to him, _stay calm._ He looked lost, but nodded. Like Belle, Bae’s wrists and ankles were bound. On his right wrist, he also wore some kind of metal cuff. She could feel one on her own wrist and assumed that was how Cora was blocking their voices. Rumple’s spell would prevent both Cora and Regina from cursing them directly, but a cursed object could bypass that.

Bae slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, bracing his back against the wall. Belle maneuvered herself into a sitting position next to him, then turned, seeking his hands with hers. When she found them, she immediately began searching for weak points in the knots. Bae pushed her fingers away, and she looked at him, confused. He shook his head and formed the words, _I know these knots,_ with his lips. Belle nodded and turned back around to let him work, but with his own hands bound, it was slow going

She examined the room. There was a row of small, high windows on one wall, but even once they got the ropes off, they’d never be able to squeeze through. The windows resembled the window in her hospital cell far too much, and she looked away. There was a metal door closed in front of them, and a large tarp to their left, covering up a pile of boxes; otherwise the room was bare.

With nothing else to do, she took a deep breath and let Bae work.

XxXxXxX

It was just like old times. Red had been on missions with Grumpy before, and it was as if no time had passed; they didn’t even have to talk much. Doing this with Nova was new, and her inexperience and nervousness were showing, but they trusted each other, which was a hell of a lot more than could be said for a lot of people Red had run missions with back in the day.

Red tracked the scent to a warehouse by the docks. It was fresher here, and she was sure Belle was inside. Red thought Bae was with her, and she could only hope that they were both OK. “Stay here,” Ruby told Nova, her voice low. “I’ll shout if we need you.” Nova nodded, her loose curls bouncing. She had a death grip on her wand, but she was not panicking.

“I smell Smee,” Ruby told Leroy, “Regina was here but I think she’s gone. Hook too, I think. I don’t know Cora’s smell, so I don’t know about her.”

“They’ll have gone to meet Gold; Cora’s not trusting Regina to do that on her own. That leaves us two against one; I’ll take those odds,” Grumpy said.

Red nodded. “Here we go.”

They went in. The place was dimly lit, but Red was a creature of the night; she could see fine. And Belle was definitely in this building. _I’ve got to make sure she never changes her perfume._ As she got closer, Red was sure Baelfire was there too; in addition to the usual teenage boy smell, he always carried a slight scent of graphite and antique wood. On top of that, she could tell that Smee was still there with them. The ocean and leather smell that she assumed was Hook and Regina’s apple perfume were both present but faded, along with a couple other unfamiliar scents she assumed belonged to Cora and additional accomplices. It seemed that Smee had been left alone to guard the prisoners.

_Good._

Red peered around a wall and saw Smee’s distinctive, red cap. He had a gun at his belt, but looked bored, and she doubted that he knew how to use it. She gestured for Grumpy to wait three seconds, then charged with supernatural speed.

Smee didn’t put up a fight. He just stuck his hands in the air and let her toss his gun across the room. He insisted that he didn’t have the keys to the door he was guarding, so Red handed him off to Grumpy, then knocked on the door.

“Belle, Bae, can you hear me?” She heard some rustling, then someone knocked on the door in response. “It’s me, Ruby. I’ve got Leroy and Nova with me. Are you all right?” Another knock. _They must be gagged._ “OK, I’m going to break this door down; get as far away as you can, all right? Knock twice if you can.” Two quick knocks. She pressed her ear to the door and heard them moving away. Once they stopped, she yanked on the knob with her wolf strength, destroying the lock mechanism and tearing the door half off its hinges. She pushed the door aside. 

Bae and Belle - both of whom, thankfully, appeared to be in one piece - were huddled in the far corner, but stepped out quickly when they saw her. Belle pointed to the cuff on her wrist then at her throat, and Ruby understood. “Come on, Nova will get those cuffs off.”

“And grab a piece of that rope,” Grumpy said with a grin, jerking his head towards the coil on the floor, “I’ve got a better use for it.” Smee just sighed.

XxXxXxX

“For the last time, Henry, we are not leaving this apartment. You’re eleven years old; you don’t take part in the fighting.” August was normally a pretty chill person (of course, it helped being able to walk away from anyone who was annoying you because you had no commitments to, well, anything), but Henry’s badgering to let him go after Regina was starting to wear thin.

“And what about you?” Henry asked. It was a poor tactic, which was probably why he hadn’t tried it earlier.

“Aside form the fact that I have a bum arm? I’m not a fighter either, Henry; I’m… exposition guy.”

“You fought off Hook.”

“No, Gold fought off Hook; I distracted him. If Bae hadn’t called on Gold when he did, Hook probably would have driven that hook through my skull.”

“You broke his nose.”

“And he poisoned me with dreamshade. Without Rumplestiltskin, Henry, he’d have killed me. Do you get that? I’d be dead. And I’m a grown man. You’re a kid, whether you like it or not; I am keeping you in this apartment like I promised.”

Henry flopped down onto the couch in a snit, arms crossed defiantly. “Look, let’s watch a movie or something,” August offered. 

“Whatever,” Henry pouted. Deciding to take that as a ‘yes’, August poked through Emma and Mary Margaret’s limited DVD collection.

“Empire Strikes Back OK?”

“Fine.”

“Look, I know this sucks, but the best thing you can do to help is the stay here, where Emma and David and Mary Margaret don’t have to worry about you. If you go out there, they won’t be able to keep their heads in the game. All right?”

“I guess so.” He was definitely pouting now.

“You want a soda?” August himself would have preferred a beer, but that would be a bad idea, even if Emma kept any in the loft, which she did not.

Henry sighed dramatically. “Sure.” August rolled his eyes but got him a Coke anyway.

Ten minutes into the film, Henry got up. “Uh, going somewhere?” August really hoped Henry wouldn’t make him chase him, but if it came down to it, August was betting that his longer legs would be the deciding factor.

“The bathroom. I am allowed to do that, right?”

“Yes, you are allowed to use the bathroom,” August sighed. _When did I become the heavy? This is ridiculous._

“Thank you.” August was feeling generous, so he even paused the movie. Probably a good thing too, when, a couple minutes later, he was able to hear a suspicious metal bang from that direction. _What was that?_

August jumped up and knocked on the door. “Henry, you OK in there?” There was no answer. “Henry? You have exactly thirty seconds before I pick the lock on this door!” He didn’t answer.

_What was that noise? … The fire escape! Shit!_ August bolted out of the building, immediately swinging around to the back. As he had feared, the bathroom window was open, the fire escape was down, and Henry was nowhere in sight.

_SHIT!_

“Henry? Henry!” _Where would he go? Regina’s? She’d have to be nuts to draw Gold’s attention there. Her vault? Same issue. Think, Booth, think! If I were Henry, where would I go if I were looking for a magical battlefield? Magic…_

_Gold’s._

August took off running, hoping like hell that his tendency to think (and act) like an impulsive teenager might actually pay off for once.

XxXxXxX

Nova couldn’t get the cuffs off. “I can’t get the cuff off!” she told Belle, practically hyperventilating. Belle, patient friend that she was, just touched her arm comfortingly.

“How do we get the cuffs off?” Ruby asked Smee.

“I don’t know; they’re magic. You probably need magic to get them off.” Ruby sighed. Dreamy was already calling Emma.

“We got ‘em, sister,” he told her. “Safe and sound. They’ve got some kind of magic cuff on ‘em that blocks their voices, but I’m sure Gold can get it off, once you let him know Cora’s lost her leverage... really? Damn. Let me put you on speaker, and you can ask the pirate.”

“Where are Cora and Regina headed?” Emma demanded.

“I don’t know,” Smee insisted. 

“There were more of you,” Ruby said. “Where are they?”

“With Cora,” Smee answered readily, “She disguised Pintel and Ragetti as Baelfire and the Belle; the Dark One agreed to hand over the dagger once he thinks they’re safely through the Hatter’s portal. The Captain is helping with the exchange, but not by choice; Cora has his heart.”

“Does she have yours?”

“No,” Smee admitted sheepishly, “I wanted to live.”

Belle and Bae exchanged a look. “Where are they are making the exchange?” Ruby demanded.

“I don’t know that, I swear. You think I wouldn’t tell you after I already ratted Cora out? I want you to catch her!”

“You got all that, sister?” Leroy asked Emma.

“Yeah,” Emma said. “The sweater kept changing directions. If Gold went to Jefferson’s first, that would explain it; we were almost there before it turned around.”

“What direction are you headed now? We’ll meet you there,” Dreamy said.

“North-east, but drop the prisoner off at the Sherriff’s station first; I don’t want to risk him running to tell Cora what’s up. There’s a copy of the keys to the cells in my desk.” Belle nodded at that, and she grabbed Nova’s hand pulling her towards the door. Bae followed more slowly, his eyes on Smee.

“On our way,” Dreamy said.

They walked back at a brisk pace, Nova still trying to figure out what she was doing wrong with the cuffs. _Some fairy godmother I turned out to be._

When they made the turn onto Main Street towards the Sherriff’s station, Belle started going in a different direction. “Where are you going?” Nova asked. Her friend pointed down the street.

“Gold’s shop.” Ruby said, “Good idea. We’ll drop this guy off and meet you there; maybe the shop’s got something that can get those cuffs off.”

Belle nodded, and Nova and Bae hurried after her. As they got closer, they heard a banging and August yelling, “Damn it, Henry! I know you’re in there; let me in!”

Bae and Belle exchanged glances and led Nova to the back door, where August was pounding with his right hand. “August,” Nova called since neither Belle nor Bae could, “What’s going on?”

August jumped, a guilty look on his face, but he immediately brightened. “Belle, Bae, you’re all right!”

Bae made a so-so gesture, and Nova explained, “Cora put some kind of magical cuff on them to block their voices. We’re hoping something in the shop will help us get them off. What’s happened to Henry?”

August sighed. “He bolted; he wants to go after Regina. I can see him in there, but I can’t get either of the doors open.” Bae and Belle exchanged glances again, and Bae gestured for August to move over. He did, and Bae opened the door easily, beckoning them to follow him.

Henry looked up from the bag of potions he was rummaging through. “Bae! Belle! You’re all right!”

“Except for the voice-blocking cuffs,” August said, hands on his hips, “What did you think you were doing, Henry? Do you have any idea how much trouble I’ll be in when Emma finds out I let you leave the loft?”

“This is more important!” Henry insisted. Bae shook his head, snatching the vial out of Henry’s hand. He grabbed Henry by the arm and dragged him back to August. “Hey!”

“Thank you,” August told Bae, grabbing Henry’s other arm. “We’re going back kid, right now.”

“I have to talk to my mom!” 

Bae shook his head firmly as August replied, “No, you need to go back to the loft. I will carry you if I have to; I’m not letting Emma down again.”

“August-”

Bae angrily banged his hand on the worktable, rattling the tools and small objects scattered over it. They all jumped, and he pointed sharply towards the door. “Henry, please,” Nova said, “This is important.” Henry looked at each of them, but found no allies.

Still not letting go, August nonetheless knelt down to look him in the eye. “Listen, kid. You are not only putting yourself in danger, you’re putting Emma and David and Mary Margaret in danger too. If Cora gets a hold of you, she’ll ransom you just like she did Bae and Belle. Sometimes being a hero, Henry, is knowing when _not_ to fight.”

Henry turned when Belle touched his shoulder. She smiled at him and nodded, then she pointed out the door. “You’re not going to let Rumplestiltskin hurt my mom, right?” Belle nodded, and Bae did too.

He frowned but muttered, “OK.”

August sighed in relief and got up. Still holding Henry by the arm, he led him towards to door. “Thanks, guys,” he said.

“We’ll call you right away when it’s over,” Nova promised.

“Thank you,” he said again. Henry said nothing. Belle looked at Bae, then immediately started going through Rumplestiltskin’s things.

“Do you know anything that will get the cuffs off?” Nova asked. Belle tilted her head, and Nova took that as a ‘maybe’. Bae, meanwhile, had found a sword and was buckling it around his waist. 

Nova helped Belle search, but it was not very long before Ruby and Dreamy came to the front door, and they still hadn’t found anything. Bae, who was now carrying a longbow and wearing a quiver of golden arrows in addition to the sword, let them in. “Any luck?” Ruby asked. Bae shook his head.

“We’re out of time,” Dreamy said, “We should head over; once Gold sees you, he’ll know Cora lied to him. I’d hate to be in her shoes then,” he smirked. Bae nodded but didn’t smile and followed him out.

Nova and Belle hurried behind. _This is all my fault; if I could just get those cuffs off!_

And they hit yet another obstacle as they entered the woods. “Hey!” Emma called. The rest of her party was gathered around her. “Cora’s put up some kind of barrier; we can’t get through! We’ve tried summoning Gold but he’s ignoring us.” Bae closed his eyes and huffed angrily. Belle merely looked worried. “Nova, can you try your wand?” Emma asked.

Nova bit her lip. “I couldn’t even get the cuffs off,” she confessed. 

“Please,” Mary Margaret said, “Try.”

“All right.” She took her wand out. She could feel the magic of the barrier; it was dark. Very dark. It was nothing like the ones now around the town that Rumplestiltskin had built out of True Love and fairy diamonds. She tried to remember her lessons.

“All dark magic has a weakness,” Blue had said, “It can never stand against pure righteousness. That is why your intentions must be pure. A fairy cannot hate or harm; she must always think of the greater good. And above all, she must believe.”

_I believe. I believe I must break this barrier. Everyone will be in danger if I can’t do it. I believe. I believe._ She cast a spell to dissolve the darkness of the barrier. Nothing happened. _Please, please… I believe, I do!_

Then she heard something. Well, perhaps ‘heard’ wasn’t the right word. She felt something. _What?_ She didn’t know what it was. _Please, please, I need to break this barrier._

_“I wish you would go away!”_

_A wish!_

_“Please don’t hurt us!”_

A little girl. Nova could feel her. And Cora was going to hurt her. Nova raised up her wand again. _I believe. I believe._ The barrier sparked. Nova jumped. “You OK?” Dreamy asked.

Nova nodded. “There’s little girl in there; Cora’s going to hurt them.”

Emma grit her teeth and put her hands up, palms towards the barrier. “Not gonna happen. Time to blow this thing apart.”

“You can do it, Emma,” Mary Margaret said.

Nova took a step back. Emma took a deep breath. Her hands began to glow, and then a beam of white light shot from her palms into the barrier. It illuminated a crack in it, right where Nova had made it spark. _Did I do that?_ Breathing heavily, Emma poured even more light from her hands into the crack. “Come on! Come on!”

The light flared, and the barrier shattered. Emma rocked back on her heels. “You did it!” Mary Margaret cheered. Belle grinned.

“Let’s go,” Emma said, charging forward. They all followed her lead. 

“I see smoke,” David observed.

“Me too,” Emma said. As they crested the hill, they saw Cora and Regina. The smoke was coming from a burning object on the ground; Nova couldn’t tell what it was. Regina was holding a knife to the throat of a man in a frock coat, and the little girl was standing next to him, frozen. They were both terrified. Rumplestiltskin was on his knees, his head bowed. Nova saw a flash of silver in Cora’s hand, and she stopped cold. _Cora has the dagger._

_We’re too late._


	24. Broken Arrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter describes an act of sexual assault.

Grace was scared. Rumplestiltskin could not blame her. As her personalities had merged, her attachment to the neighbors that been her parents for twenty-eight years had waned some (they had been distant, he gathered, a side-effect of the curse not allowing happiness), but still she cried when Jefferson explained that they would not be coming with them.

“But they’ll be all right, right?” She looked to Rumplestiltskin. 

Skilled liar that he was, he smiled. “They’ll be fine.” And they might, for all he knew. But he would not bet on it. “Let’s go; Cora is waiting.” 

Grace had her backpack, filled only with a change of clothes for her and Belle, a homespun rabbit that Jefferson had clearly made back in their old world, and a spool of gold from Rumplestiltskin. There were four more spools in Jefferson’s bag, along with a change of clothes for Jefferson and Bae, Bae’s ball, and Belle’s cup. He couldn’t give them more; they were out of time.

Jefferson gripped Grace’s shoulder firmly and nodded. Rumplestiltskin gestured and they appeared in the woods, near the location Regina had texted to him. “We have to walk from here.” Cora had placed a spell on the area to block any magical transportation; Rumplestiltskin would not be able to simply magic his family to safety.

When they reached the indicated clearing, neither witch was to be seen. Jefferson twitched and glared. “They’re playing games,” he said.

“Always,” Rumplestiltskin agreed. And they had won. Or Cora had, anyway; Rumplestiltskin did not expect that things would work out the way Regina was hoping once Cora actually had the dagger. _She’ll kill Henry._ Rumplestiltskin regretted that - but not enough to sacrifice Bae and Belle.

“Rumple,” Cora said from behind them. He refused to jump. But Jefferson did, dragging Grace behind him. “How punctual. Although I see one more companion than I was expecting.”

“The only way to honor our agreement, I’m afraid,” Rumple said. “The Hatter and I had a previous arrangement.” 

“And you never break a deal,” she said with a smile. “Even when outmaneuvered.” 

“That is what you are counting on, is it not?” It went without saying that she was one of the very few people who had ever outmaneuvered him - and the only one to do it twice.

“It is.”

“Then let me see them.”

She took a few steps forward, Grace cowering into her father. Cora gestured regally, and called, “Regina, dear.”

Regina walked out from behind a tree, holding a dagger to Baelfire’s throat. Rumplestiltskin had no doubt that it was coated with dreamshade. Jones appeared immediately after, the point of his hook against Belle’s neck. Bae and Belle were both gagged, their hands bound in front of them. Rumplestiltskin closed his eyes. _KILL THEM! KILL THEM!_ But he couldn’t subdue both Regina and Cora quickly enough to ensure that neither Bae nor Belle would be killed, and that was a risk he was unwilling to take. “Bae…” he began, taking an involuntary step forward.

“Ah, ah, dear,” Cora said. “Time to get on with this. Hatter!”

Jaw tense, Jefferson opened the round, leather box and retrieved his hat, setting it down on the ground between them. “Wait,” Rumplestiltskin said to Regina, “You owe me a favor.”

“We’ve already come to an agreement,” Cora said pointedly, “Unless you’d like me to go back on my end-”

“No! I just… I’m asking just a moment. To say goodbye.”

Regina’s eyes flicked to the hat then back to him. “Fine,” she said, “Speak. But don’t come any closer; you had your chance for True Love’s Kiss. You’re not getting another.”

Cora looked amused, which was probably the only reason she allowed it. “By all means, Rumple. I’d hate for my daughter to remain in your debt.”

Rumplestiltskin grit his teeth. But this was his only chance. He’d sacrificed everything for a chance to find his boy, to apologize and to say that he loved him. In the end, he’d gotten far more than he could have ever hoped for. Seven months with Bae, four with Belle - for a brief time, Rumplestiltskin had truly had his family back, and if they had not quite reached happiness, he could believed that they had at least found some measure of peace with one another. _It’s not enough! She’s going to control you. She’d going to kill you. She has harmed what is yours! KILL HER!_

“Bae,” Rumplestiltskin said, his voice tight, “I chose power over you once. Never again. I’m so sorry, son. I love you.” Bae swallowed but did not try to speak. Biting his lip, Rumplestiltskin continued. “Belle. You’ve told me that you were always able to see the good in me, but that’s not true, sweetheart. The truth is, you didn’t see it - you created it. You, you and Bae, are the reason I have the strength to do this. I love you, Belle. So much.” There were tears in his eyes, and he could curse himself for showing such vulnerability in front of Cora, but in a few moments, it would hardly matter anyway.

“As touching as this is,” Regina drawled, “Your ‘moment’s’ up. Jefferson?”

Muttering to himself, Jefferson spun his hat. He must have been practicing with it, because it obeyed him immediately, even in this new land with its manufactured magic. Bae was first, and Rumplestiltskin had to force himself to watch as his boy was ripped from him a second time. He could not imagine that Cora driving the dagger into his heart - which he fully expected her to do once she had it - would hurt this much. _At least he is not going alone this time._

Belle was next, and like Bae, she didn’t even look at him before jumping into the portal. _Do they hate me? They must._ It was their right after everything he had done, and now they’d lost their new lives here because of him. _Please. Please, forgive me someday. I love you both._

Once Belle was through, Jefferson took Grace by the arm. She was scared of the portal, but more scared of the Queens. _Smart girl._ They were about to jump when the hat burst into flames, and the portal dissipated.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Jefferson shouted at him.

“That wasn’t me,” he said, looking to Cora. The smirk on her lips was all the confirmation he needed.

“Now, Rumple, the dagger.” She put out her hand for it.

“This was not was we agreed to, dearie,” he hissed. 

“Actually, it is. The agreement was that the Hatter take them somewhere safe; you never specified that he was to accompany them.”

“’Take’ implies he would.”

“Implication does not matter. It’s the letter of the contract that is binding; you taught me that.”

“Giving you the dagger now would violate my agreement with Jefferson.”

“And what was that? I assume it involved keeping the girl safe? Allow me to make it easy for you; give me the dagger or I kill the girl.” Branches immediately snaked down from the trees towards Grace and Jefferson. He deflected them with a gesture, but while he was distracted, Regina was able to get her dagger against Jefferson’s throat, and Cora cast an immobilization spell on Grace. Hook loomed behind her.

“There are three of us and two of them,” Cora said, “The only way you can save them both is to give me the dagger as we agreed.”

“Do it,” Jefferson hissed, his eyes darting to Grace. “Give it to her.”

“There, see, you have permission. Our agreement, Rumple.” Cora put out her hand again. She’d won. He knew she would likely kill Grace anyway just to punish Jefferson, but he also knew she that definitely would if he did not capitulate. Bae and Belle would not want him to let Grace die. 

Defeated, he summoned the dagger. _NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DON’T GIVE IT TO HER! SHE WILL KILL YOU! SHE WILL TAKE YOUR POWER!_ He stared at Grace’s wide, frightened eyes. Not sure if he was saving her or signing her death warrant, he presented the dagger to Cora.

Regally, she took it. She smiled, and dreamshade was not half as deadly as that smile. She said one word. “Kneel.”

He did. And once more, he was that frightened peasant forced to kiss Hordor’s boot. But this time, he really had saved Bae, and Belle too. _This is for you. I love you both so much._

She took a step towards him, placing one foot in front of the other, and rage and shame nearly overwhelmed him as he realized what she was going to command him to do next. _Once again, you are nothing._

_It was worth it to save them._

He suddenly heard people approaching from his left, but Cora’s command had taken control of his whole body; he could not lift his head. Fortunately, Miss Swann did not hesitate to announce herself. “Drop the dagger, Cora.”

“Stop them, Rumple,” Cora said in a bored tone. He was able to look up now, but could not prevent himself from freezing the Savior and her companions in place. He saw Snow and Charming, all seven dwarves, and the younger wolf. _They really brought the cavalry, didn’t they? Not that it matters._

She smirked. “Very good.” She trailed her fingers under his jaw and then threaded them though his hair. His burning rage froze in an instant, and he realized that he had miscalculated. _Again._ She wasn’t going to kill him right away; she was going to own him first. 

“Stand,” she said. He did. She placed the tip of the dagger to his throat, and she leaned forward, kissing him deeply. It revolted him that less than a week ago, part of him had still craved her touch. Now he wanted nothing more than to blast her away from him, but he was frozen, helpless.

_See what you are. See what you have done. She will spend days, weeks, months breaking you. You are nothing. She will make you worse than nothing._

She parted her lips from his, just barely, and whispered, “Kill the girl.”

NO! His mind was screaming, but he could not disobey. She took a step towards Regina and Jefferson as he turned to Grace. He tried to fight it, but he could not stop his magic from swirling around her, lifting her off her feet and stealing the air from her lungs.

“NO!” Jefferson screamed, “STOP!” He tried to elbow Regina, but a gesture from Cora fixed him in place. But he could still scream. “GRACE!!”

THUNK.

Somehow, Rumplestiltskin’s magic dissipated, and Grace fell to the ground, coughing. What? Cora toppled forward, the dagger slipping from her now limp fingers and a golden arrow protruding from the back of her skull.

_GET THE DAGGER!_

He dove for it, but Jefferson was closer; the moment he touched it, it was his. The Hatter spun around, brandishing the crooked blade at Regina. She backed up a step and Hook poised to charge, but Jefferson shouted, “Stop them!” and Rumplestiltskin was once again compelled to hold them in place with magic, yanking Regina into position as she attempted to transport through Cora’s unraveling spell circle.

His previous freezing spells had collapsed with Cora, and the heroes rushed towards them. But they weren’t close enough to prevent Jefferson from putting the dagger to Regina’s throat.

“Jeffers-” Rumplestiltskin began, but the Hatter interrupted him with a sharply barked order.

“Shut up!”

Rumplestiltskin’s teeth clicked loudly as his curse forced his mouth shut.

“Papa!” Grace cried.

“Cover her eyes,” Jefferson ordered, his voice cracking.

Immediately, Rumplestiltskin grabbed Grace by the shoulders and held her against his side, her tears and protests muffled by his suit jacket.

“Jefferson!” Emma shouted, nearly upon them. 

“Stop them!”

More freezing spells. Jefferson was actually taxing his abilities at this point, as both Regina and Emma fought against him.

Jefferson pressed the dagger to Regina’s neck, and a trickle of apple red blood oozed down her pale skin.

“Jefferson, stop,” a familiar voice called.

Rumplestiltskin gasped and looked towards the top of the hill. It was Belle.

_They lied. THEY LIED!_

Bae was there too, emerging from behind a tree, the magical bow Rumplestiltskin had taken from Robin Hood in his hands, the golden arrows peeking out from behind his shoulder. _He killed her. My boy saved me._ The stumbling, pink fairy rounded out their group. They must have been hiding behind the trees when Cora had given her order. _If she’d been more specific, she’d have won._

“Jefferson,” Belle continued, walking slowly towards them, her hands raised in a placating gesture. “Please, don’t kill her.”

“She’s dangerous.”

“Yes, she is, but with Cora gone we can contain her.”

“She took me away from Grace!” The girl in question sobbed. “Don’t cry, don’t cry,” Jefferson babbled, but he did not move. “I’m going to keep you safe.”

As Belle and Jefferson spoke, the fairy scuttled over to Baelfire and raised her wand to his wrist. A metal cuff dropped off his wrist and fell the ground. “Jefferson,” he said. “Don’t do this in front of her.”

“I have to keep her safe!”

“Jefferson,” Bae said, slowly walking towards them, “If you do this on front of her, she will never, ever forget it. And she will not feel safe. Believe me, I know.” Rumplestiltskin closed his eyes. 

Grace was crying in earnest now, gripping his jacket tightly. _How frightened must she be to turn to a monster for comfort?_ And Bae hadn’t even had that. _I’m sorry, Bae, I’m so sorry._

“Jefferson, please,” Belle said. The Hatter’s hands were starting to shake. “Give back the dagger. I promise that Regina will go back to her cell. She won’t be able to hurt Grace again.”

Jefferson was panting, his eyes wild. “Papa, please,” Grace begged, her words almost indistinguishable. Slowly, his hands shaking, Jefferson removed the dagger from Regina’s throat.

“Send her to the cell,” he muttered. “Dark in the ground. Let her _rot_.”

Rumplestiltskin did, and her landing was not a soft one. Jefferson glared at him, then flipped the dagger in his hands, catching it by the blade. He presented it to Rumplestiltskin hilt first. He was desperate to take it, but Jefferson’s order still stood; he could not move his hands. 

“Take it!” Jefferson barked, and Rumplestiltskin snatched the dagger away with supernatural speed. Grace ran to her father, embracing him.

“Papa!”

Jefferson fell to his knees, clinging to his girl with a ferocity that Rumplestiltskin understood all too well. He looked over at his own boy, expecting condemnation. Instead, Baelfire’s face was carefully blank as he walked towards him. Confused, he glanced at Belle, who simply smiled and threw her arms around him. Stunned, Rumplestiltskin simply hugged back. _Safe. They’re safe. For the moment._

The heroes milled around, Emma immediately moving to arrest Jones. “It wasn’t me, love,” he insisted, “Cora took my heart.” Rumplestiltskin looked at him skeptically. “ I swear. It’s in that pouch on her belt.”

Emma simply continued divesting him of his weapons, tossing that damn hook some distance away. The pirate whined but didn’t fight it. Charming and the ill-tempered dwarf checked Cora’s body for the heart. Unfortunately, they found it.

“It’s… blackened,” Emma commented. 

“Yes, well, the pirate is hardly the paragon of virtue that our dear Dr. Hopper is,” Rumplestiltskin drawled. But, in truth, Rumplestiltskin was surprised by how much red remained in Hook’s heart. His own, he was sure, was blacker than that, and it rankled that the pirate’s heart was purer than his. _Crush it._

“And I’d like it back now, if you don’t mind,” Jones said with false bravado. He was on his knees, Emma gripping his shoulder aggressively, and Rumplestiltskin could not complain about the view.

“You can put it back, right?” Charming asked Rumplestiltskin, and he was baffled by the question. _Of course I can put it back. But why would I?_

The same thing had apparently occurred to Jones. “If you give it to him, he’ll crush it,” he said, “Like he did to Milah.”

“No, he won’t,” Bae said like he believed it, “We have a deal. No revenge. Not even against you.”

“When did Cora take your heart anyway?” Emma asked, “You didn’t mention it the first time I locked you up.”

“She could have ordered him not to,” Mary Margaret suggested.

“But she didn’t, did she? Pirate,” Rumplestiltskin spat.

“Remember that I can tell when you’re lying,” Emma said.

“Then I must confess. You are the loveliest Sherriff I have ever seen.” Emma rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder she didn’t strain something. Charming growled.

“It was after Cora sprang you from jail, wasn’t it?” Bae asked. “Tell us. You owe me that much.”

“Yes, all right, lad. I do. And that is why she took it. I told her I would not help her harm Milah’s son; she didn’t take it kindly.”

“And who did she actually send through that portal?” Emma asked.

“Pintel and Ragetti.”

“That is what Smee said,” Emma confirmed, nodding.

“Aye,” Jones agreed. “A good man, Smee.”

“And was she controlling them as well?” Emma asked. “And Smee?”

“They were being paid. And Smee was given the choice to join her or die; Smee’s the surviving sort.”

“OK, that’s consistent too. What a mess,” Emma muttered. “All right, on your feet. Gold, what do you want to put his heart back where it belongs?”

“Doesn’t matter what you offer him, love; he’ll crush it as soon as you give it to him. He won’t be able to resist; he has to prove he’s not a coward.” Apparently the pirate had already decided he was a dead man and wanted to go out taunting his killer. Rumplestiltskin didn’t know if he was wrong.

Belle frowned and tightened her arms around him. “You don’t know anything,” she told the pirate.

“I know what he is. A monster. A murderer. A coward.”

Emma shook him, “Seriously, buddy, are you trying to piss him off?”

_Kill him. He’s taken what was yours. He’s a threat. Kill him!_ “Papa,” Bae said wearily. “Please. Just put it back.”

Steeling himself, Rumplestiltskin rolled his fingers, and the heart appeared in his hands. Charming jumped. “Gold…” Emma began. _Crush it. It would be so easy. He could never hurt them again._

“So, today is the day you send me to be with Milah,” the pirate mocked, “I’ll see you in Hell, crocodile.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will someday,” he said. Immortal or not, he was bound to be replaced as the Dark One at some point (and, in reality, he was not looking forward to outliving Belle - or worse, Bae). “And I’m sure she’s there too.” _Kill him. Kill him like you killed her._ He swaggered towards the pirate, the tainted heart in full view of everyone. 

“But you will not be joining her today. No…” Rumplestiltskin grit his teeth. “Today is the day that you thank whatever fickle deity that controls you fate that my son is a better man than you or I will ever be.” 

With that, he jammed the heart into Jones’ chest, squeezing it roughly, and hissing into his ear, “I hope it _hurts_.” From the look on Jones’ face, he was sure it did. “If you ever come near Bae or Belle again, I will kill you.” Then he let go and took a hasty step back. No one noticed that he’d also placed the same spell on Jones that he had on Cora and Regina. He’d let the pirate live, but he would not risk him coming after his family again. _Kill him! Kill him, you coward!_

Rumplestiltskin jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. It was Bae. His boy didn’t say anything, just embraced him, him eyes sad. Mindful of the quiver on his back, Rumplestiltskin hugged back. “Bae. Thank you, Bae. You saved me.” And he’d killed someone. Rumplestiltskin had never wanted that for his boy. _Damn you, Cora. I hope you rot in Hell._

Bae said nothing, but Belle wrapped her arms around both of them. “Let’s go home,” she said. Bae nodded. But Jones, apparently, wasn’t done.

“So you’ll just let him walk away with the dagger?”

“Uh, yeah,” Emma said, her tone mocking. “It’s his.”

“He’s the Dark One; he will turn on you.”

Emma sighed. “That’s the same story Regina’s been trying to sell for months, but Gold wasn’t the one snatching hearts and kidnapping people, was he? Come on, buddy, get a move on.” She hauled the pirate to his feet. “David, can you get the hook? And put in a call to the morgue.” She jerked her head towards Cora’s body. Charming nodded and took out his phone.

“He needs to be killed!” Jones barked. “He’s the Dark One!”

Emma huffed. “We don’t do that here. Besides, I thought you knew how this dagger stuff worked. Anyone who kills him just becomes the new Dark One; I’ve gotten used to this one.” Jones stared at her; apparently he hadn’t known that little detail. _Thank you, Miss Swan, for giving him even more reason to try to kill me._

And at Emma’s comment about killing, Bae looked sharply away from Cora’s prone from. There was surprisingly little blood. Tearing his eyes away from Jones, Rumplestiltskin placed a hand under his boy’s chin, “Bae, you did nothing wrong. There was no other way to save Grace. And Mary Margret would surely have been next.”

“And who’s next for you, crocodile?” Jones taunted. Rumplestiltskin stiffened, and Hook turned to Emma. “Let me kill him. I’ll use the power better than he has. I certainly couldn’t use it worse!”

Rumplestiltskin could not help laughing. “You know, that’s exactly what I thought. And unlike you, _pirate_ , I wasn’t a villain before.”

“He’s right,” Bae said. “The power changed him; I told you that. It would make you worse than you are, Killian. Much worse.” Bae still refused to explain what had happened between him and Jones other than that they had met while in Neverland. Considering his own mountains of secrets, Rumplestiltskin could not deny his son his, but his desire to know was nearly overwhelming. _I may have to pay the pirate a visit._

“It doesn’t even matter,” Emma said, “I told you; we don’t do that. Gold’s been walking the line; he’s free to go until he actually does something.”

Rumplestiltskin looked out at the crowd, waiting for the accusation that he and Cora had been in cahoots (which was not true) or that he’d sold out the town to save his own family (which was). It never came. “Let’s go,” he said to Bae and Belle.

Belle smiled and kissed his cheek. “Yes, let’s.”

“Kid,” Emma called to Bae and they turned to go. “You did the right thing.”

“Yes,” Snow agreed. Charming and the dwarves nodded. 

“Thank you,” Grace said. Jefferson nodded, his eyes closed. If there was anyone with more reason to hate and fear Cora than Rumplestiltskin, it was the Hatter.

“You can keep the gold,” Rumplestiltskin said to him. “But I do need the ball and the cup back.” Rumplestiltskin had broken his deal with Jefferson, even if he hadn’t meant to. The gold was the least he could offer.

“I don’t want your gold,” Jefferson spat. “Take it, take it all.” He yanked off the bag he was carrying and shoved at him. Rumplestiltskin took it. Belle’s clothes were still in Grace’s bag, but if Belle wanted them back, Rumplestiltskin would simply ask the girl later. Or have Belle do it; it was unlikely Jefferson would want him around his daughter after this.

“I owe you a favor,” Rumplestiltskin said. The magic demanded it as reparations for the broken deal. Jefferson glared but said nothing.

“I’m tired,” Bae said, his eyes downcast. “I want to go home.”

_Home._

“Of course.”

“No magic. I want to walk.” 

“Of course.”

“I’ll call you later, Gold,” Emma said, forcing the pirate into an awkward march. “Witness statements.”

Rumplestiltskin sighed. “Of course.”

XxXxXxX

Bae and Rumple were exhausted, and Belle wasn’t faring much better, but she did remember to call August as Nova had promised they would. And that reminded her of something else. “Rumple, did Cora alter the wards on the shop?”

Rumple blinked. “Not that I know of. Why?” 

“Henry was inside when we got there.”

“That’s right,” Bae said, “But August couldn’t get in.”

Rumple frowned, looking uneasy. “That’s… troubling. Let me check them when we pass by.”

They did, Bae putting the sword and bow and quiver back where he’d found them and then collapsing on the cot while Rumple investigated. Belle was grateful now that she’d told Bae about Robin Hood and his magical bow; Grace would be dead now if she hadn’t. But it broke her heart that it had come to this. 

“They’re intact,” Rumple said, brow wrinkled in confusion. “Are you sure that neither of you invited Henry in?”

Belle shook he head. “I never have. And he was in here before we arrived.”

“Bae?”

“I never have either.”

Rumple frowned. “This might have to do with his status as Truest Believer; I’m not actually certain what that means for him. I’ll look into it.”

“Tomorrow,” Bae tiredly, sitting up.

Rumple’s expression softened. “Of course, Bae. Let’s go home.”

They did. 

XxXxXxX

Regina stared at the bars of her cell dully, the thin mattress that passed for her bed doing little to cushion her from the stone slab underneath. She refused to cry. She stood when she heard footsteps. She was expecting Rumple, or possibly Swan.

It was Swan. And Henry. “Mom!” Henry said, running up to the bars.

“Henry!” She put her hands over his and tried to smile.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she said. Physically speaking, it wasn’t a lie.

“Why did you do it?” he asked desperately.

“To protect you,” she said. “I know Rumple-”

He pulled away. “Stop! Just stop. Mr. Gold hasn’t done anything! He’s not going to do anything! And even if he had, Bae and Belle and Paige and Jefferson are innocent!”

“I didn’t know that my Mother was going to order Rumple to attack Jefferson’s daughter-” But she didn’t wonder why she had. She should have anticipated it.

“And Bae and Belle? You kidnapped them! And then you made a deal with Mr. Gold to let them go free, but you didn’t honor it.”

“That was all my mother’s idea.”

“But you went along with it! And what were you going to do once Cora had the dagger? Kill Mary Margaret? Kill Emma?”

Regina pursed her lips. “I just wanted you back-”

“That a confession?” Swan asked, her arms crossed aggressively. 

“Well, it doesn’t matter now, does it?” Regina snapped.

“Of course it matters!” Henry said. “I thought you were changing, I thought you were better.”

“Henry-”

“I’m glad you’re all right. But I’m also glad you’re in this cell. Maybe if you don’t have magic, you can figure out how to be my Mom again.” Crying, he walked away. Swan gave Regina a disgusted look and followed him.

Regina slammed her fist into the bars. _Damn you, Mother!_

XxXxXxX

_Bae was back in Neverland._

_The Lost Boys were hunting him, as they often did. Pan thought his unwillingness to play his games was very amusing; he often sent the Lost Boys after him, trying to force his hand. He’d had to injure some of them before, but he’d avoided killing any of them._

_So far._

_The Boys chased him into a clearing where Felix was waiting. He had a knife in his hand, and someone was kneeling on the ground before him. They were begging. For what, Bae could not tell, but Felix only sneered._

_“Kill him,” he said, but he wasn’t talking to Bae._

_The figure got up, cloaked and hooded, and turned towards Bae. It reached out a scaled, clawed hand, and Bae realized that it was his father. The knife in Felix’s hand was the Dark One’s dagger._

_The hood fell back and Papa shuffled towards him, limping, his face utterly expressionless. “Stop!” Bae said, drawing an arrow. He didn’t. “Stop, please!” Papa raised his hand higher and flames sprung up around them. “Papa, I know you don’t want to do this!” The fire pressed closer and, in desperation, Baelfire shot at Felix, who was now Cora._

_But the arrow pierced his father through the chest instead. He fell, the hood covering his face. “Papa?” Pan was laughing._

_“I guess you finally decided to play after all!”_

_Bae knelt by his father and pulled the hood away from his face. He was human again, dressed as he had been the night the killed Zozo._

_“PAPA!”_

Bae frightened himself awake. His heart was hammering, and he fought to remind himself that it was just a dream. But it wasn’t all a dream. He had fired at Cora. And he had killed her. He’d meant to; he knew that the bow was enchanted to never miss its mark. He’d had one shot to save Grace, his father, and the town, and he’d taken it.

He felt nauseous.

He glanced at his alarm clock; it was nearly four. He got out of bed. Coffee sounded much better than trying to go back to sleep. He heard faint music and soft voices when he opened his door and realized that Belle and his father were both awake and downstairs too.

He wanted to see his father right now.

“ _…a fighter by his trade_  
And he carries the reminders  
Of ev'ry glove that laid him down  
And cut him…*”

“Bae?” Papa asked, concerned, as he stumbled into the den. Papa and Belle were cuddled up on the sofa together, a tea service on the coffee table in front of them, and Bae’s Simon and Garfunkel record playing quietly. It was Belle’s favorite too.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said shrugging.

“Me either,” Belle said wearily. “Come sit with us.”

Bae’s smile was just as weary. “Sure. Just let me get some coffee.”

XxXxXxX

The Shadow was trapped.

The mermaid that had left Neverland had returned to its waters to retrieve squid ink, and Pan - anxious to find the Truest Believer and intrigued by her leaving and then returning - had commanded the Shadow to follow her.

Through the portal she had created, The Shadow had arrived in a very strange place; a place that had magic that didn’t belong to it. The mermaid had given the ink to someone the Shadow knew not to be seen by. Someone very powerful. Someone who was very angry. Someone the Shadow had taken before.

The Shadow had then tried to return to Pan but met with some sort of barrier. It burned the Shadow. It encircled the entire town, and as the sun rose, the Shadow had come to realize that it could not return to Pan.

So it hid. 

And waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Lyrics from The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel


	25. Hand of Fate

“You’re certain you don’t want to move it back a couple of days?” Rumple asked about the library’s grand opening.

“Of course not!” Belle said. “We announced this date weeks ago.”

“But with all that’s happened…”

“I will not let Cora and Regina take this away from me, Rumple. I will not!”

He smiled softly and the lines of concern around his eyes relaxed. “Of course, Sweetheart. Do you need any help?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you. But do try not to scare Ariel too much.” Ariel had arrived yesterday afternoon with the squid ink. She’d been mortified that she’d been unable to arrive before Cora had made her move, and Rumple had not been terribly patient with her, but she’d been steady enough to offer to help make up the work on the library that had been missed yesterday. Between her help and Rumple’s, Belle was certain that they would make their deadline.

“I will try, dear. You can expect me after I speak to Emma about Henry’s effect on my wards; that is a question that should be answered sooner rather than later.”

“Yes, of course. August and Marco are putting the final touches on the Children’s Room this morning, and then it’s just little things.”

“Very good, I shouldn’t be long.” They kissed and he headed towards the Sherriff’s Station while Belle and Bae continued on to the library.

Marco and August were waiting there with wall sculpture they had carved for the Children’s Room. It was breathtaking. 

“Oh, Marco, it’s beautiful!” The sculpture was of a forest filled with animals, some readily apparent and others cleverly hidden; the more you looked at it, the more you saw. It was partially painted, but the colors were muted, and Belle knew it would lend the room a calm, cozy feel.

Marco blushed and mumbled his thanks while August grinned. “You want it centered on the back wall, right?”

“Yes, exactly. Will you need help hanging it?”

“Ah, if Bae could lend a hand, um…” He waggled the fingers on his left hand. It was out of the sling now, but she knew that he couldn’t put a lot of weight on in.

“No problem,” Bae said.

“Call if you need me,” she said, and she dove right into shelving the new books, making a mental list in her head of all the things that needed to be done by tomorrow. She was decidedly not thinking about the events of yesterday or her time in the hospital.

But she did hope that Rumple would be back soon. 

XxXxXxX

“Yeah, August told me about that,” Emma said, “Sorry, Gold. Henry got a hell of a lecture last night from me and Mary Margaret about that little stunt.”

Rumplestiltskin smiled and shook his head. “It’s not the fact that he entered my shop that concerns me, it’s the fact that he was able to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have blood wards on my shop. They are still intact, and they kept Mr. Booth out exactly as I would expect. What I need to know is how Henry was able to cross them. I think this may have to do with his status as the Truest Believer, but I need to investigate further.”

That got her attention. She stared at him, her eyes wide. “You think Henry might have magic? Like me?”

“Even you can’t cross my wards, Miss Swan, just as I cannot cross yours or Regina’s. This is a very unusual power; I suggest we do everything we can to understand the extent of it.”

Emma nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, OK.”

Henry was apparently being grounded by having to spend the day with his grandmother at the Town Hall. He was excited when they arrived; Rumplestiltskin was sure that investigating his possible magic powers was more interesting to an eleven-year-old boy than local governance.

“This is a not a reprieve from your grounding, kid,” Emma said, “We’re figuring this out, and then it’s right back to Town Hall with you.”

“Aw…” 

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. “Now, which door did you use?” he asked as the approached the shop.

“The front door. It wasn’t locked!” Rumplestiltskin nodded.

“You leave your door unlocked?” Emma asked, incredulously.

“It’s warded with magic; far more effective than a lock. At least, it should be. Henry, I’d like you to replicate exactly what you did. I can observe the wards as you try to breach them.”

“Sure. I knocked, and said ‘Mr. Gold, are you here?’” Henry looked at him and laughed shyly.

Rumplestiltskin gave him a little wave. “I’m here. And then what?”

“I just went in.” And, as described, the boy just turned the knob and walked in, the bell jingling merrily.

Rumplestiltskin froze. “What, Gold? What is it?” Emma asked.

“He didn’t bypass the wards.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Henry was looking at him from the other side of the door, and Rumplestiltskin stumbled in after him, plucking some hair from his head. “Ow!”

“Gold! What the hell!”

Rumplestiltskin ignored them, summoning a potion from the back. He dropped the hairs in, and the gas inside turned green. _No, no, it’s impossible._ “Gold, what are you doing? Did you put a spell on Henry?”

“No,” he said, stunned.

“Then, what? What is it?” _But then the puppet said…_

“I require a word with Reul Ghorm.”

“What? Gold-”

He transported, landing just outside the convent, and sent a blast of dark magic into the barrier she had erected to keep him and the other ‘undesirables’ out. “Open up, dearie! You have some explaining to do!” It took a good five minutes of blasting before Reul Ghorm deigned to show her face, and he knew Emma would arrive any moment. “Care to explain this!” he demanded, waving the vial.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Dark One.” 

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t! That would be why you told the puppet that Henry’s father was Baelfire! Where did you get that information, Reul Ghorm?!”

“I don’t have to tell you that,” she said primly. _Kill her. Destroy her._

“Would you rather explain it to the Savior? She’ll be here any minute, dearie.”

“I will explain to Princess Emma everything that she needs to know.”

He snarled. “Tell me where you got your information or I am repossessing this convent and razing it to the ground!”

“You can’t do that.”

“I damn well can! Read the agreement; you’ve erected a barrier that denies me entry to my own property without permission! You’re welcome to appeal to the Sherriff if you like, but I gather she’ll be none too pleased with you when hears what you’ve done!”

Reul Ghorm’s lips twisted in a most unpleasant fashion. “And you think such a threat will intimidate me? We will shelter with the people if we must-”

“Not in any of my buildings you won’t!”

“-until the magic beans are ready. We will be returning to our home soon enough.”

“How strange, when you put so much effort into getting us all here. Tell me, what were you hoping to accomplish, Reul Ghorm?” He stalked as close to the barrier as he was able. “Are you working with Pan? Are you?!”

“Of course not,” she said haughtily. _She lies. She must die._

“Well, someone used my son to create your precious Truest Believer, and you are going to tell what you know!”

“I am going to tell you nothing, Dark One.”

She turned away, preparing to walk back inside, out of his reach. He blasted the barrier again. He’d take it apart dust grain by dust grain if he had to; she was going to explain what she knew if he had to burn that convent down around her ears.

“Gold!” Emma shouted, scrambling out of her Bug. “What the hell is going on?!”

“Reul Ghorm knows something; she is _going_ to tell me.”

“Something about Henry?”

“Yes!” he barked, send one final blast into the barrier, then turning to look at her. “Do you remember the tale puppet told us about Henry’s father?”

“Of course; I got sent to jail at the end of that one, remember?”

“You remember who Reul Ghorm told him your paramour was?”

“She told him Nate was Balefire… but that’s impossible. Bae was here, and I may have been seventeen, Gold, but Nate was in his twenties.”

“What did he look like?”

“Nate?” She was baffled now, and Rumplestiltskin saw Henry watching them from the Bug. She’d obviously ordered him to stay put, likely with dire threats of accompanying Mary Margaret to the Town Hall until he was thirty, but the lad had been canny enough to roll the window down. He could obviously hear them.

Panting, Rumplestiltskin lowered his voice and walked closer to Emma. “Yes. What did he look like? Dark hair? Dark eyes? A bit taller than me?”

Emma was looking at him in confused suspicion. In retrospect, this little tantrum had lacked his usual degree of forethought. “Yes… but that could describe thousands of guys - tens of thousands.”

“I don’t know how, Miss Swan,” he said lowly, “But somehow, by blood, Bae is Henry’s father.”

She stared. “That’s impossible.”

“One would think, but somehow, it came to pass. And Reul Ghorm _knew_.”

Emma shook her head. “Gold, this is insane.”

“Did you not say the same thing to Henry and Mr. Booth not five months ago? I assure you, Miss Swan, it is true. And I will discover how it happened.”

“Does it even matter? Nate is long gone; whoever he was, he’s not in the picture.”

“Of course it matters!” Rumplestiltskin hissed. “Do you not realize? Someone engineered Henry’s birth the way I engineered yours, and we don’t know why! Does this not concern you, Miss Swan? Pan wants his heart; what if he’s not the only one?”

She tossed up her hands, “How do I know you’re even telling the truth? This could all be some plot of yours.”

“Towards what end? What use have I for immortality? I have it already! Perform a blood test if that is what will convince you, but this must be dealt with!”

Emma stared at him. “What are you going to tell Bae?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Don’t tell him,” she said quickly.

He gaped. “What?” The thought had certainly occurred to him, but he never would have expected the Savior of all people to suggest it.

“Look, Gold, it’s confusing enough for Henry to have two moms, especially when one is Regina. I’m not bringing his dad into this. And Bae’s fifteen; you really think he can cope with this? You and me, we can try to figure this out, but Bae and Henry don’t need to know.”

He didn’t disagree. But he also knew that if the truth came out, Bae (and Belle) would be very angry with him for hiding it. But then, it was Emma’s idea… “You will assist me in this matter?”

“Assist how?” 

“You had the most contact with this Nate; I will need to see your memories.”

She frowned, and shifted her stance. “You really think this could be a threat to Henry?”

“I do.”

“All right. But just you and me; no one else needs to know.”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “We at least need to speak to Mr. Booth. I need to see his memories as well, and he may know more than he’s already told us. Reul Ghorm’s attempt to turn him into a child suggests to me that he does.”

“Wait, August wouldn’t hold back like that, not after he’s already come clean about everything else.”

Rumplestiltskin cocked a skeptical eyebrow, but said, “He may not even be aware of what he knows, or its significance. He may even be in danger without knowing it, if that is the case.”

Emma nodded. “OK, August, but no one else. I’m not dragging Henry into this crap any more than I have to.”

“Reul Ghorm may interfere; she knows that we know now.”

“Do you think she is behind this?”

“She’s at the top of my short list. We never did discern her endgame, but as she has informed me just now that her intent is to return to the Enchanted Forest as soon as the beans are ready, I believe that we may be confronted with it soon.”

Emma rubbed her forehead. “We’ll deal with that if it happens. But between us, it’s you, me, August, and no one else, all right?”

He hesitated, but only a moment. “Agreed.”

“So… what do we tell Henry?”

XxXxXxX

“Rumple!” Bae looked up as Belle greeted his father. “Come look at the sculpture that Marco and August carved; it’s perfect!”

Marco blushed and muttered something as he packed up the industrial vacuum cleaner (he called it a shopvac) that they’d been using to clean up the last of the construction dust. August smiled indulgently as he put together the easels that would be used for Nova’s welcome display.

“Wait,” Bae said, as Papa moved towards the stacks on Belle’s arm, “Did you figure out the thing with Henry?”

Papa smiled. “I’ll have to investigate a bit more, but I am certain now that it has to do with his status as Truest Believer. It’s unique to Henry, so I’ve no concern about the wards.”

“I don’t think that any of the books we found in the library say anything about the Truest Believer,” Belle said, “But I haven’t had time to go through them all page by page; they might be worth a look.”

“They might. Thank you, Sweetheart. Now show me this sculpture.”

Bae went back to setting up the public computers. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something didn’t feel quite right.

XxXxXxX

August rapped his knuckles on the wall before entering the main room of the Sherriff’s station. Emma looked up. “Hey, Emma, you needed to talk to me?”

“Yeah. Gold had some questions about Nate; he’ll be here in a minute.”

August frowned. “Nate?” He certainly hadn’t been expecting that.

“Yeah. Um, Gold can explain it when he gets here.”

“OK…” Emma was stressed out. Which August really couldn’t blame her for, but he was concerned. “Regina giving you any trouble?” he asked. 

“She wants Cora put in her mausoleum next to her dad.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I guess not; if we put her in the general cemetery, people might just be tempted to deface the grave. And Regina is paying for it. But she wants to visit; that’s the problem.”

“Well, there are those manacles… but I’m getting the impression that’s not what this is about.” He was good at reading people, after all, and by now he had more experience reading Emma than most. 

She put a hand to her forehead. “It’s just… where does it end? When does this shit stop, August? If it’s not the curse, it’s Pan, if it’s not Pan, it’s Cora, if it’s not Cora, it’s the Blue Fairy… how am I supposed to take care of Henry when we can’t get two straight weeks of normalcy? And now David and Mary Margaret are talking about going back the Enchanted Forest! The Enchanted Forest! With ogres, and chimeras, and even more magic crap than we’ve got here!” She collapsed into the desk chair behind her, sending it rolling back a foot or so. She let her hands dangle over the armrests as she looked at him.

“I… I don’t know,” he said. It wasn’t fair. She’d done her part - far more admirably than he had done his - and she deserved a break. Hell, she deserved to be able to just walk away if that was what she wanted. But he didn’t think that it was.

She just sighed. “That was a rhetorical question,” she said dryly, rolling the chair forwards and back like a child. “I’m just so sick of this shit, August.”

“Of course,” he agreed. His aching arm said he was sick of it too, and he wasn’t the goddamn Savior. “You want to get a drink with me this weekend? Or five?” He’d offer to take her tonight, but the library opening was tomorrow, and he didn’t want to face Belle’s wrath if he showed up hung over.

She shook her head. “What about Henry?”

“David or Mary Margaret could watch him. Or Ruby, if she’s free.”

“Let me think about it.”

“Sure.” They looked around awkwardly for a few moments before the familiar tapping of Gold’s cane on the tile indicated that he’d arrived.

“Hi,” August said, “Emma said you had some questions for me about Nate?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did she tell you what they were concerning?”

“No,” Emma said, “I thought you might want to field that one, since you’re the one pushing this.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I told you that you were welcome to perform a blood test if you have doubts,” he said. “But in the meantime, we must act.”

“On what?” August said. “Has Nate shown up again or something?”

“Or something,” Emma said darkly. 

“What?” Whatever it was, it had both Emma and the Dark One on edge. This isn’t good.

“Well? Tell him, Gold,” Emma said, still lounging in the desk chair.

Gold turned to August. He tried not to fidget. “Do you recall when you told us that Reul Ghorm had informed you that Henry’s father was Baelfire?”

“Yes,” he said carefully.

“Yesterday I discovered something rather alarming,” Gold said. “I do not know how, but somehow, by blood, Henry is Bae’s son.”

_Woah…_ “Is that how he was able to get through the wards on your shop?” August asked. _That’s it, Booth, ask the relevant questions. Dumbass._

Gold laughed humorlessly. “That was actually how we discovered it,” he said. “Had Henry not snuck into my shop, we might never have learned the truth.”

“Wow. So what do you need me for? I’m sorry, I don’t have Nate’s contact information or anything.”

“I need your memories. Yours and Miss Swan’s. This man must have left some clues to his true identity.”

“So, like, that dream catcher thing you did with Pongo?”

Gold nodded. “Precisely.”

“Of course. What have you told Bae and Henry?”

“Nothing,” Emma said, “And you’re not telling them anything either. Henry doesn’t need to know.”

August gaped. “What? Emma…”

She pointed an accusing finger at him. “No. Henry does not find out about this. He’s been through too damn much already. Gold is figuring this out, but Henry does not get involved.”

“Henry’s already involved!”

“August! You saw what happened with Regina! Henry charges in; that’s what he does. If someone other than Pan is after his heart, the first thing he’ll do is try to confront them!”

August narrowed his eyes. “That’s not what this is about.”

“Of course it is!”

“No, it isn’t. You just don’t want to explain to Henry who Nate was to you.”

“Of course I don’t! It was bad enough when he was just a thief that left me high and dry, now he’s some kind of magical plant, or clone, or… something!”

“So, you’re going to lie to him? And you want me to as well? Emma, you know what happens to me when I lie!”

“You don’t have to lie,” Gold said. “Just don’t contradict Miss Swan’s version of events. Evade. You’re good at that.”

_That’s hilarious coming from you._ But August wasn’t quite suicidal enough to say something like that to the Dark One’s face. “Henry deserves to know the truth,” he said instead.

“No, he goddamn doesn’t!” Emma shouted, getting to her feet. “No one deserves to know that they only exist because some asshole needed something from them, least of all my kid! August, you know what it’s like!”

August gave her a disbelieving look. “What Blue did doesn’t change that my father wanted me, Emma, and it doesn’t change that your parents wanted you too.”

“But I didn’t want him!” 

They shared a tense silence before August said quietly, “But you want him now. He knows that, Emma. He didn’t when he went looking for you, but he did it anyway.”

“Because Regina was a bitch. If she’d stayed a good mom, he wouldn’t have wanted to know me.”

“Bullshit.”

“August-”

“Emma, listen!”

“No,” she said forcefully, “You listen. You don’t know what it’s like to have a kid. Sometimes you have to say ‘no’ if it’s bad enough or dangerous enough. After everything he’s been through, I’m not adding this!”

August sighed in frustration. _There’s that stubbornness._ But ultimately, it wasn’t his call. “Fine. I won’t tell him. But I won’t lie either. If he asks, I’m sending him your way.” _And if Henry doesn’t figure out from that that something is up, I’m Galahad the Pure._

“Fine,” Emma huffed. August sighed. _You know things are fucked up when I’m the voice of reason._

“All right,” August said to Gold, sitting on the edge of the desk. “Do your thing. You did say that this doesn’t hurt, right?”

He smiled mockingly. “Well, it doesn’t have to…” Emma rolled her eyes.

“Stop trolling and get on with it,” she said. “We’ve all got places to be.”

“Very well.” Two dream catchers appeared in his hand. He put one down on the desk and dangled the other over August’s head. Instinctively, August tried to look up, but Gold scolded him.

“Do keep still, please.”

“Why? Does it blur the image if I move too much?” August asked dryly.

Gold snorted. “No. It’s simply distracting.” August sighed but kept still. Gold set the dream catcher down. “Your turn now, Miss Swan.”

“I’m not sure about this,” she said.

“Mr. Booth wasn’t bothered,” Gold wheedled.

“‘Mr. Booth’ didn’t have sex with him... Did you? Please tell me you didn’t.”

“No! God, Emma.”

“Believe me, Miss Swan, I’m not doing this for my own amusement; we must understand who Nate is and who sent him. Recall that if it was Reul Ghorm, she is walking around freely in full possession of her powers. The Sorcerer and his Apprentice may also come and go at will. If Henry’s heart is the prize, we must understand who is seeking it.”

“Fine, fine, all right? Do it. Pick apart my life more than you already have. At least this time you asked first.”

Gold said nothing, but picked up the second dream catcher. He offered no apologies, and August could at least appreciate that he didn’t lie to them. They all knew he’d do it again in a heartbeat to get his son back, and Belle too. Emma had even told August a few weeks ago that she sometimes wished that her parents had been a little more selfish, like Gold (or Papa). He’d told her that between Blue and Rumplestiltskin, he didn’t think that David or Mary Margaret could have changed the outcome; he couldn’t offer her more than that.

“Thank you,” Gold said, banishing the dream catchers… somewhere. “I will let you know what I am able to discern.”

“That’s it? You don’t want to ask us about him or anything?” August asked.

“I should review the memories first. They’re inherently biased, but my viewing of them could be even more tainted if I view them expecting to see certain things.”

“Oh. That makes sense. So… done?” August wanted out of there. He didn’t handle conflict well, and Emma was still pissed. He tried to tell himself that it wasn’t running away, but he knew it was bullshit. He tapped the toe of his left foot against the floor.

“For now; I’ll likely have questions later.”

“Sure. Whatever.” But he couldn’t leave without asking, “Emma?”

She waved him away. “Go home, August.”

He took two steps before stopping to look back at her. “That offer for this weekend is still on the table, if you want it.”

She looked at him. _Damn, she just looks so… tired._ “You know what? Yeah. Yeah, I think I do. I’ll call you Saturday.”

“OK, Emma.”

XxXxXxX

Rumplestiltskin told Bae and Belle that he was doing some research for Emma (perfectly true), and retreated to his laboratory. He stared chronologically, observing Emma stealing a car (that same yellow Bug she now drove), her waking up the man sleeping in the back, and their deception of the police officer.

_He really does look like Bae._

This Nate avoided speaking about his past, but the few things he mentioned (“My mom left when I was really little… My dad got into drugs and it was all downhill from there.”) were not untrue for Baelfire, if his history were dressed up to match the particulars of this world. He didn’t draw, but seemed fond of photographs. And he seemed sincere enough in his intentions that Rumplestiltskin could see how even the jaded Emma had come to believe and trust in him.

_Who was he? What was he?_

After several hours of getting nowhere with Emma’s memories, he tried the puppet’s. They held even more clues, as the puppet - as he had informed Rumplestiltskin months ago - had confronted this Nate with his supposed identity. And, as the puppet had said, he behaved as if he actually believed that he was Baelfire.

And not only in that he accepted the name as his and alluded to things that few people beyond Rumplestiltskin, Reul Ghorm, and Bae himself knew, but he showed that same fear and anger that Rumplestiltskin had seen so often in his boy since finding him again. The way he held himself. The way he pushed his hand through his hair when the puppet mentioned just who had engineered the curse.

Whoever had sent this Nate knew Baelfire. His history, his mannerisms. 

_His essence._

It was the darkest of magics. The foil to the light magic that had created the puppet. And to have been so real as to have conceived a child, it would have to have been the most complex one ever created.

_Is it even possible?_

Emma had speculated that Nate could have been a clone, but that was a concept of this world, not a world of magic. There were, however, magical alternatives. Using magic, it was possible to gather the essence of a person and combine it with soil or clay to create a sort of life, one that resembled the person whose essence had been stolen. The resulting being, if the spell were complex enough, would be indistinguishable from an actual human but lacked a soul and could be commanded by its creator to perform any task.

_A golem._

_But who could possibly have sent it?_

Reul Ghorm, for all her hypocrisy, was bound by the rules of light magic; she could not do this. _But she may very well know who did._ She hadn’t cast the curse, after all, but had done a great deal to ensure that Regina did. _But why? What is her endgame?_ She couldn’t use Henry’s heart herself, for the same reason she could not have created the golem. _How would it benefit her for someone else to use it?_

He needed answers, but Reul Ghorm was one of the few beings that could match him; he’d never been able to force her hand. And he couldn’t even approach her as long as she stayed in her convent. He could evict her, and approach her then, but that would likely achieve nothing but spur a magical battle between the two of them. Which would be satisfying, but not informative. He needed to try something else, something more subtle.

He laughed to himself when he realized that left him with only one alternative. _It’s not often that the Emma Swan is the more subtle option._

XxXxXxX

“Prin- Sherriff, how may I help you?”

Emma’s arms were crossed aggressively and August shifted nervously beside her. He’d been surprised that he’d been judged ‘good’ enough to make it through the barrier the Blue Fairy had put around the convent, and Emma had had the uncharitable thought that he’d been counting on that to get out of this. But it didn’t really matter; he’d followed her in, just as he’d promised. 

She’d told him that she wanted another set of eyes and ears on the Blue Fairy, but mostly she wanted someone to pull her back if she went for the nun’s throat. Even Regina had not enraged her this much; she, at least, had never tried to hurt Henry on purpose. Or sent a clay zombie to impregnate Emma.

“You can answer some questions,” Emma said. _Not that you ever do that._

The nun frowned. “About what?”

“About Nate.”

“What about him?”

“Did you send him? What was he?”

“I did not. And I do not know.”

_Damn it._

As with Regina after Archie’s apparent murder, Emma’s superpower was telling her something she had trouble believing: the Blue Fairy was telling the truth. “Did you know he wasn’t human?”

“No. As I told Pinocchio-”

“August.”

“August,” she corrected, her mouth pinching in frustration, “I believed that he was Baelfire. I did not learn that it was not so until Baelfire was found in Storybrooke.”

Also truth. _Goddammit!_

“Why did you think Nate was Baelfire? Where did you get that information?”

“Rumplestiltskin is not the only being capable of prophecy. There are Seers - his gift was stolen from one, in fact - and others of power that surpass even the Dark One.”

“Like who?” 

“The Sorcerer, for one. Gods. The Fates.”

“Wait… gods? Actual gods?” She exchanged a look with August, who looked equally alarmed.

“Yes.”

“Which gods?”

“There are many. Zeus and his line. Odin and his.”

“What? Why has no one mentioned this before?”

“Because they are not of this world, nor are they of ours. They do, however, on occasion, meddle in the affairs of mortals.”

Emma snorted and pinched her nose. “Now, who does that sound like? OK, so gods - which god gave you this prophesy? It wasn’t Loki, was it?” 

“No. It was made by a fairy whose special gift was to hear directly from the Fates.”

“And where is she?”

“Dead. Rumplestiltskin murdered her for her wand, as he did to so many of our kind.”

More truth. _DAMN IT, GOLD!_

“So what was your plan, then? Why did you want the curse to happen?”

“I did not want the curse to happen. It was fated to happen.”

“Oh, Bull. Shit. You don’t get to say that when you could have stopped it and didn’t - that’s on you.”

“I cannot defy the Fates.”

“Can’t or won’t?” 

“I must not.”

Emma snarled. “So that’s a ‘won’t’. Who are they? Why do they get to call the shots?”

Mother Superior blinked. “They are the Fates,” she repeated, as if that answered everything.

“So, what? So, they’re powerful? That doesn’t mean they have the right to fuck with people!”

The nun looked at Emma like she was a raving lunatic. “They are the Fates; that is their role.”

“Why?” Emma asked.

“Why?” Mother Superior repeated, as if she simply could not comprehend that anyone could question the crap she was spouting.

“Why is that their role? Who gave them that authority?”

“It is simply the way of things, child,” and that damn condescension was back.

“I am _not_ your child. And is this what you’re telling me: everything you did you did without knowing why, other than the Fates wanted it to happen?”

She shook her head. “It is not a matter of want. The Fates do not want, as fairies may not want. They simply dictate what must happen, for the greater good.”

Emma stared at her. “And how do you know it’s for the greater good?” Emma demanded.

“I simply do.” And damn it if the fairy didn’t truly believe that every word she was saying was true. _After all this, she’s just another religious zealot? DAMMIT!_ Emma was breathing hard and her fingers itched to do something really stupid, but August touched her gently on the arm.

“I don’t think we’re going to get any more answers here,” he said quietly.

Emma glared, but he was right. “Fine. Oh, and by the way,” Emma said to the nun, “Your landlord had informed me that the barrier you’ve put up is in violation of your lease. You’ve got three days from when he informed you of that to take it down, or he’s beginning eviction procedures. And don’t expect the Sheriff’s department to cut you any slack.”

The nun huffed and Emma walked away, August scrambling to keep up. They were well off convent property when he asked, “So, how much of that was the truth?”

“As she understands it? All of it. DAMMIT!”

“Well, we did learn something; Gold didn’t mention the Fates.”

“Yeah,” she huffed. “But damn it, August, gods? Actual gods? We just got rid of Cora, we can’t keep the Blue Fairy under control, and God knows we’d be fucked if Gold decided to go evil again, and now we have to deal with gods? Real gods?!”

August backed up have a step and spread his hands in a placating gesture. “Gold hasn’t gone evil again, and as long as Bae and Belle are both around, I don’t think he will. And if we’re talking Greek or Norse pantheons here, whichever god decided that they wanted Henry’s heart, there’s probably half a dozen who don’t want them to have it. Those guys aren’t actually known for reaching consensus, you know.”

“So, basically, if it’s Loki we call Thor?”

He gestured helplessly. “It’s the only idea I’ve got. But that is usually how the stories go. And at least we know Blue’s allegiance now.”

She sighed. “This is just… insane. Totally insane.”

He laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

She sighed again. “I’ll tell Gold what we found out. You get back to the library; if we’re facing the gods’ wrath here, we don’t need Belle’s as well. Grand Opening’s a six, right?”

He smiled and touched her arm. “Right. See you and Henry there?”

She tried to smile. “We wouldn’t miss it.”

XxXxXxX

“The Fates?” Rumplestiltskin asked.

“Yeah.”

“Damn.”

“That’s what I said. So, what do we do, Gold?”

“Nothing,” he said quietly. 

Emma gaped. “You must be joking.”

“I most certainly am not. The Fates cannot be challenged. They cannot be persuaded. One can only hope that they do not take an interest.”

“Well, I think they’ve already damn well got an interest!”

“And yet their prediction was wrong. Or misinterpreted. You are certain that Reul Ghorm was telling the truth?”

“What she believed to be the truth, anyway. She really believes this stuff; whatever the Fates say, she does, no questions asked.”

“And yet she could not have created the golem.”

“So who did, do you think? Which of the… gods does things like that?” 

“Any of them. Gods are not bound by the rules of light and dark magic as Reul Ghorm is. Any of them could have done it.” He recalled his most recent encounter with a blessed object (the pendant from Dionysus that Gaston wore) but did not mention it to her. Aside from the fact it could be completely unrelated (Dionysus was a patron of homosexuality, among other things), that pantheon was trouble. Hades was bad enough, but Zeus had far too many things in common with Reul Ghorm for Rumplestiltskin’s taste.

“Then which one would want Henry’s heart?”

“Again, any of them. Even if for no other reason than they discovered that a rival coveted it.” 

Emma sighed. “That’s what August said. He said our best shot was to find the gods who want to stop whichever one cooked this up.”

“He is quite correct. I am powerful, Miss Swan, but I am not a god.”

“Then what do we do? How do we get in contact with them?”

“We don’t. It is exceptionally unwise to attract a god’s attention. For all we know, the original plot was already discovered and thwarted. Or the next step of this plan takes place hundreds of years from now.” He hoped.

“And if it doesn’t?” she demanded.

“Then we will surely be made aware of it when it happens.”

“You know, you never struck me as the fatalistic type, Gold. You set a castle on fire and walked through it with a bum leg to steal a magical dagger to save your kid; don’t tell me to do anything less.”

He looked away. “Do as you will, Miss Swan, but remember how that story ended.”

“I don’t know how it ends; it’s not over yet.”

The bell above the door rang loudly as she yanked it open then slammed it behind her. Rumplestiltskin looked at his reflection in the glass. “No,” he said to himself, “I don’t suppose it is.”


	26. Pawns Take Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains torture.

“Attention, everyone!” Belle called, standing on a stool to help her see over the crowd. Rumplestiltskin was standing directly behind her, his hand on her back and a fond smile on his face. August remembered the ladder incident from the Book, and he wondered if Gold was afraid she’d fall off or hoping that she might so that he could catch her. 

It took a minute (and a glare from Rumplestiltskin) for the crowd to settle down, and Belle began, “I just want to thank you all for coming and to welcome you to the Storybrooke Free Public Library!” The crowd applauded. “I also want to thank everyone who was so important in getting the library ready for our visitors, especially Bae, Nova, and August, who were here every day for months, cleaning, reorganizing, cataloging, and renovating.” The crowd applauded again, Belle grinning widely and clapping the hardest. Bae waved awkwardly, and August nodded to the crowd while Nova’s face flushed to match the pink flowers on her dress. Leroy hugged her, and urged her to wave. 

As the applause died down, Belle continued. “I also want to thank Ariel and Archie for lending a hand, Emma for helping set up our new computers, and Leroy for his electrical work, without which we would not have been able to install them.” Now Nova was making Leroy wave to the crowd. Ariel and Archie smiled and waved (exuberantly and bashfully respectfully), while Emma raised her hand exactly once as if to say ‘There, I did it, stop looking at me’. 

“And I want to thank Marco for his amazing work on the Children’s Room, especially the beautiful sculpture that he and August carved especially for the space.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” August said, as his father flushed brighter than Nova and tried to hide behind him. “Papa’s shy,” he told the crowd. He knew that wasn’t news to most of them, and there was some good-natured laugher.

Belle took pity on him and hurried to finish her speech. “Finally, I want to thank Rumplestiltskin, who took our case to the Town Council, and has been incredibly supportive and patient with me during all of this.”

Through inertia, politeness, or possibly even some measure of actual appreciation, the crowd clapped for Rumplestiltskin, who dealt with the attention that August was sure he had not expected at all by ignoring them entirely to stare rapturously at Belle. She smiled and bent down to kiss him. Ruby whistled and the crowd laughed and kept clapping.

“So who’d you have to threaten, Gold?” Leroy asked loudly.

Rumplestiltskin only smirked and said dryly, “I’m amused you think it came to that.” The crowd laughed again (perhaps more nervously than before), and there were flashes as Nova and the photographer from the Mirror started taking pictures.

“So, again,” Belle said to the crowd, “Thank you, and welcome, everybody! Help yourself to refreshments, and don’t forget to check out a book before you leave tonight!”

There was one final rush of noise as the crowd gave their applause, and Rumplestiltskin helped Belle off the stool. She kissed him again, and Bae rolled his eyes the way teenagers do when their parents get too cozy in public. August turned as he felt a hand on his shoulder, and Papa came out of his hiding place to hug him tightly. “I’m proud of you,” he said, and August hugged him back, trying not to tear up when he realized that this time he might actually be able to believe it.

“Thank you, Papa.”

XxXxXxX

Bae raised an eyebrow at the stack of books Henry wanted to check out. “Belle said the limit was ten, right?” Henry asked.

Bae nodded. “Mhm.” Bae scanned Henry’s library card and then started on the books. He paused when he got to Chicken Soup for the Soul. “This isn’t for you, is it?” he asked knowingly.

“Yes, it is!” Henry lied.

Bae shook his head, but checked the book out anyway, followed by the gardening and art books Henry had also picked out for his Mom. “It’s all right,” the older boy said. 

Bae printed out the due date receipt and stacked the books up neatly, sliding them over to Henry. Henry looked at the books then back at him. “She’s my Mom,” he said. “I can’t give up on her.”

Bae glanced over to where his Dad and Belle were looking at the welcome display. Nova had made it really nice, with felt and paper birds and leaves decorating the borders, and a picture of everyone who had helped with the library posing with their favorite books (Emma had not been happy about having her picture taken, but Mary Margaret had helped Henry talk her into it). “I know,” Bae said. “Just… look out for yourself, OK?”

“I will.” _But I have to look out for her too._

XxXxXxX

It had been two weeks since her mother’s death, and Regina was desperately clinging to the only two sources of hope she had left. First and foremost were Henry’s care packages. Miss Swan has said something about civil liberties when she’d dropped off a pen and paper three days after Mother’s death - along with a letter from Henry. “I read everything that goes in or out, just so you’re aware,” she’d said before leaving Regina alone with the guard.

Henry’s letter had been short and filled with more ‘I wish you had’nts” than “I miss yous”, but she’d had to sit backwards on the ‘bed’ as she read it so that the guard could not see her cry. And the next day, there’d been a delivery of books. “These are on Henry’s card,” Miss Swan had said, “So don’t trash them. ”

He hadn’t given up on her. She had to remember that.

Her other ray of hope what that Miss Swan simply didn’t have to stomach to keep her imprisoned the Enchanted Forest way, and it appeared to be rubbing off on Snow and Charming too. She’d been given privacy curtains for her toilet/washing area, and she was apparently entitled to request books from the library herself. She’d mentioned being entitled to exercise and been given a jump rope and the set of free-weights from her own house. She was given an electric lamp so that she could actually read the books, and it seemed that the heroes were doing their utmost to make Rumple’s cell conform to the standards of this world.

It was a weakness that she could exploit.

She didn’t know how just yet, but she would be patient. She couldn’t rush into this. Rumple’s spawn had killed her mother, and while she burned for revenge, she’d realized something that day. Losing Henry - thinking that he’d really given up on her - had been worse than losing her mother.

And then Rumple had come by to taunt her and warn her away from trying to avenge herself against his brat. It had all been very predictable except for one thing; he’d claimed that by killing her mother, his son had saved Henry’s life. “Remember, dearie, you were willing to kill everyone else in your child’s life just to have him all to yourself. Exactly how long do you think Cora would have waited before doing the same?”

She’d didn’t want him to be right, but he was. It was an annoying habit of his.

So she would wait. 

And if it came down to avenging her mother or earning Henry’s love, she knew which she’d chose.

_But only if I have to._

XxXxXxX

Killian couldn’t smell the ocean.

That was the worst part. Oh, he’d been in cells before, of course, and spent almost all of his not inconsiderable life in one type of prison or another (from servitude to Neverland to servitude in Neverland and then from the Evil Queen to the Queen of Hearts), but he’d never gone so long without being able to smell the ocean. He’d cursed the crocodile and Cora and then the crocodile again, but that was getting him exactly nowhere.

He almost wished that the crocodile had crushed his heart. They’d have seen, then, what he really was, and Hook would have been spared this humiliation. Instead the crocodile had granted him mercy, and been lauded for it. Hook had been forced to watch while Milah’s boy embraced her killer, and he knew the crocodile would eventually come for him anyway. He’d make it look like an escape or an accident, ridding himself of an annoyance while he played house with the little maid and his son - until, one day, he turned on them too.

It was inevitable, for men - _monsters_ \- like him.

But days passed, and he never came. Two weeks, and Killian’s only visitor had been the Sherriff, wanting to know everything he knew about Cora and Pan.

Not that he was complaining about that, mind. He liked the Sherriff - _Emma_ \- which was an odd enough thing; he didn’t usually get along well with lawmen. But then, she wasn’t exactly a man, was she?

She reminded him of Milah. Beautiful, brave, full of fire. But while Milah’s loyalties had been as piratical as Killian’s own, Emma’s were towards her son and this town. In that way, she reminded him of Liam. Liam would have liked Emma. He wouldn’t have liked Milah.

But Liam wasn’t here. Neither was Milah. It was only Killian, and, for the hour a day he was let out of his cell, Smee, King George, and Sir Maurice (a strange practice, but one apparently required in this land). It was not lost on him that nearly every prisoner in this town (Regina apparently included, according to Emma) was imprisoned for attempting to come between the crocodile and his woman. The crocodile owned this town, and even Emma did his bidding, though she denied it up and down. Killian took advantage of her visits to try to convince her, but so far he’d had no luck.

Today, though, today felt different. “Sherriff, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Cut the crap. I’ve got a question for you.”

“Aye?”

“You’ve been around, right? Different worlds?”

“Aye.”

“Ever meet any gods?”

He sat back. “Why do you ask?”

“None of your business. Have you?”

“Hmm… I may have.”

She glared. “Cut the crap; I am in no mood for games. Have you, or haven’t you?”

She did seem serious. Worried, even. He decided to play along, and see where it went. “As a matter of fact, I had an encounter with Poseidon some years ago.”

“About what?” she asked, her gaze intense.

“His daughter had run away, and I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In truth, I was lucky to get away with my crew and ship still in tact. Then there was that sail made from the feathers of Pegasus… brought me nothing but trouble. I’d steer clear of anything having to do with gods, if I were you.” She looked away for a briefest moment. _Oh. I bit late for that, then._

“Did the crocodile summon one?” he asked. He had the power to, if he had the desire. But then Killian doubted that he had the courage.

“No,” she laughed. “Matter of fact, he gave me the exact same advice. Seems you have more in common than you thought.”

He smiled at her attempt to goad him. “The crocodile is a villain and a coward, but I never said he was stupid.”

She smirked. “So what do you know about the Fates?”

“Worse than the gods. A god will sometimes give you a chance to change their mind if you’re beautiful enough or clever enough. But the Fates? They can’t be swayed. It’s said that even the gods fear them.”

“Do you?”

He shrugged. “There’s no sense fearing what you can’t change. If they’ve their eye on me, they’ll make themselves known one way or another. In the meantime, I’ll live how I like.” That was one thing the crocodile had never understood. There was no use fighting Fate, but there was no use bowing to it either. Fate was no reason hide behind a spinning wheel and refuse to look beyond what you had; if you weren’t meant for greater things, the Fates would let you know.

“So, you like being in this cell?” the Sherriff asked mockingly. He enjoyed it when she did this; he hadn’t had anyone to spar with since Milah.

“Can’t complain about the view; not right now, at least. Could do with a bit more fresh air, though.”

She snorted. “I’m sure. That’s all, for now. I know where to find you.” Her smile was smug.

His was too. “Aye.”

XxXxXxX

It had been more than a month, and Greg and Tamara were still hiding in the woods. But they were finally getting somewhere.

The first thing they noticed was that nothing seemed to come in or go out of the town. No buses. No deliveries. And yet, somehow, the town functioned. There was food in the grocery store and goods at the five and dime. There was even a post office, which somehow delivered mail daily without every receiving any outside letters or packages.

They tracked the trucks that delivered to the businesses back to a couple if warehouses on the edge of town. Just like the post office, they sent items out without ever receiving anything. Somehow the goods just appeared inside every night to be delivered the next day. Hiding as they were, Greg and Tamara couldn’t get close enough to catch the process on video, but after a week of steak-outs it simply wasn’t possible that all the goods they’d seen come out could have been delivered and stored there before their surveillance began; the buildings just weren’t big enough.

And they had overheard some interesting conversations. There was a ‘queen’ being held prisoner somewhere in the mines, and there was a great deal of discussion about curses and ‘going home’.

“We were right,” Tamara said, “These people don’t belong in this world; they’re from somewhere else.”

“Not just the people,” Greg corrected, “The town. It appeared overnight; somehow, the whole town was brought here.”

“So do we contact the Home Office? They might have heard of this kind of thing before.”

“Not just yet. I want a look at this ‘queen’ first.”

“You think it might be her? The Mayor?”

“I think it’s someone who can get us some answers.”

“OK. But how to we get to her?”

Greg grimaced. “I’m not sure yet. But at least we now know where to look.”

Tamara nodded, but she did wonder how far Greg was willing to take this. She understood his reasoning, but a place like this - destroying it had to be their first priority. There was only so far they could stray from the mission before they risked the final result.

_This had better pan out._

XxXxXxX

The Shadow was getting weaker. Pan had already taken so much from it, and being so long outside the bounds of Neverland was weakening its connection to the land and to Pan himself. If it continued on, it would die. 

To preserve itself, it needed magic. 

Then, in its searches, it sensed magic. Magic it has sensed before. Magic it could not reach or use, but mortals could. Magic that would take it back to Neverland. If it could find a mortal to influence, it could escape. It began to hunt.

XxXxXxX

“We need to talk, Emma,” Mary Margaret said. 

Emma tensed. She didn’t want to bring her parents in on the whole god/golem thing. Considering how everyone else from the Enchanted Forest had reacted so far, she was not expecting them to be any help, and they were terrible at keeping secrets. Henry already thought something was up; letting David and Mary Margaret know (and to tell one was to tell the other) would guarantee that he would find out sooner rather than later. In fact, she was fairly certain the he only reason he hadn’t already started poking holes her story was because he was distracted by Regina’s imprisonment.

“About what?” she asked, deliberately mild.

“About what we’re going to do when the beans are ready.” _Oh. Yes, of course. Another conversation I’m not prepared for._ But it did give Emma an opportunity to ask questions without giving away her secret. 

“OK.”

“OK?” 

Emma shrugged. “Anton said we’d have some soon, and it’s better to have a plan, right?”

Mary Margaret smiled. “Yes, exactly. David and I have discussed it, and we think it would be wise to go in stages. With the ogres back, it will be safer for the children and elderly to stay in Storybrooke while we reestablish the kingdoms.”

Emma nodded. “Makes sense. We’ll have enough beans to travel back and forth, right?” She wasn’t eager to leave her world, and less so to take Henry to a land full of ogres and, apparently, gods, but she didn’t want to be cut off from David and Mary Margaret either.

“Yes. Anton says the crop looks good.”

“Then good, as long as I stay here with Henry.”

Mary Margaret frowned but nodded. “That is what your father suggested. I guess I was hoping… but it doesn’t make sense, does it? Henry needs to be safe, and you are needed here.”

Emma crossed her arms. “You and David are both going, aren’t you?” She’d gone so long with no one to be responsible for but herself that she hadn’t anticipated her loyalties being divided like this. But Henry had to come first. 

Mary Margaret looked down. “We have to; the kingdom needs us.” 

_I need you too._ But that was the thought of a little girl who’d never known her parents, not a grown woman with a child of her own. “I understand. And you will be going back and forth, right?”

Mary Margaret nodded. “Of course. We could never leave you and Henry; not for long.”

“So do you have a strategy for the ogres? I hear Gold is the only one who’s ever taken them down. If the move isn’t permanent, you might want to look into hiring him.”

“And offer him what?”

“I don’t know. A chance to impress Belle and his kid? The magical goodies he’s got locked up in his castle back there?”

Mary Margaret nodded thoughtfully. “It is worth considering, but we cannot rely on him forever. We should deal with the ogres ourselves if we can, and with no villages to protect and the ability to retreat whenever we need, it should be easier.”

“Just as long as you don’t bring any ogres back with you. Although, I suppose if you did, Gold would have to deal with them then.”

Mary Margaret smiled ruefully. “Let’s call that plan C.”

Emma smiled slightly; she saw her opening. “So, what else will you be dealing with over there? Dragons? That thing from Night on Bald Mountain? Hades?”

“Dragons yes. I don’t actually know about that specific demon, although demons are quite real. And as long as we don’t dabble in necromancy, Hades shouldn’t be a problem.”

“So Hades is real too?”

Mary Margaret nodded. “Of course, although like Rumplestiltskin he goes by many names. But don’t worry; he has no reason to bother us. And if we get really stuck, I might have a connection on Olympus.”

“Wait, seriously?” Emma gaped.

She nodded, smiling. “Yes. Hercules. His last task brought him to my kingdom; I’m certain that he has earned his godhood by now.”

“So he really did have to earn his godhood, like in the movie? He wasn’t atoning for killing his family?”

“What? No, of course not. The gods would never punish someone for something they couldn’t control.”

“Wow, there goes all my righteous indignation. I thought Disney had butchered that story.” 

“Oh, they probably did. He didn’t mention a Phil or a Meg, and I know there was no high school.”

“High school? Oh right, the show.”

Mary Margaret laughed. “The show. So why all the questions about gods?”

“Just want to know what we’re going up against, is all. The Blue Fairy is bad enough; I don’t want to be blindsided like that again.”

Mary Margaret looked away sadly. Emma didn’t think anyone in town felt as betrayed by the Blue Fairy as Mary Margaret did (although the case could be made for Marco). She’d been Mary Margret’s idol, and one of her last connections to her mother (Johanna, her old nurse, being the other). What she had felt had almost been religious in nature, and Emma supposed it would be like being betrayed by a god. “Yes, of course. Unfortunately, I just don’t know very much; our kingdom worked far more closely with the fairies than the gods. Have you spoken to Rumplestiltskin? If anyone in town has dealt with the gods, it would be him.”

“His advice basically boiled down to staying out of their way.”

Mary Margaret nodded. “That is probably wise.”

_Except when it’s too damn late for that._ Emma nodded and changed the subject. “So, who are you planning to take with you?”

XxXxXxX

“The Home Office is demanding the report by tonight, Greg; how much do we tell them?”

“The stuff about the warehouse should be safe; it will convince them we’re making progress. Don’t mention the Queen.” They’d found the entrance to the mines that the guards used but had not yet attempted to enter. They were hoping to have a better idea of where they were going before they risked alerting the town to their presence.

“Greg… what are you going to do if she’s not the one?”

He looked sharply at her. “She is the one; I’m sure of it. Remember what we’ve heard about her son; she wants kids, the sicko.”

“Greg,” Tamara sighed. “You know what probably happened to your father, right? After this long, he must be-”

“Don’t say it,” he snapped. “We don’t know what she did to him. She could have erased his memory like they did to me; they could be holding him prisoner around here somewhere!”

“Baby, you know I want you to find him, but the mission has to come first-”

“We wouldn’t even know about this town if it weren’t for my father. The biggest cache of magic any of us have ever seen! I will complete the mission, but not without him!”

She was getting nowhere. And she’d already deviated too much from protocol to break with him now. “OK.”

“OK?”

“Look, if what we’ve been hearing is true, she’s the one who brought the town here. She might know a way to send it back.”

“Yes! Yes, exactly. You know I wouldn’t betray the mission, Tamara.”

“I know. But we’re running out of time; we have to do this quickly.”

He nodded, resolute. “Yes. Let’s get back to the campsite; I think I have a plan.”

XxXxXxX

“Hello, Sir Gaston,” Regina said. Of all her guards, he’d proved the most useful. He was an idiot in love and seemed incapable of keeping his mouth shut about it. It was mind-numbingly irritating, but over time she’d been able to goad him into a sort of rapport where he occasionally dropped a useful piece of information. He’d already mentioned that the giant had begun growing beans to send those who wished back to the Enchanted Forest (though many, like Rumple, supposedly planned on staying), and with the way he was grinning tonight, something must have happened. She just hoped it wasn’t another encounter with the puppet; she did not need to hear about that again.

“Regina,” he greeted with a nod. She responded with a goading smile.

After the previous guard (Frederick) was out of earshot, she commented, “You look pleased.”

“Snow White and David are planning an assault on the ogres; they have accepted my and LeFou’s request to join the campaign.”

“So the beans will be ready soon, then?”

He gave her a condescending look. “You know I can’t tell you that. But you may ask the Sherriff when you next see her.” _I think not._

“Was Henry there?”

Gaston shook his head. “He was not permitted in the War Council.” Well, that showed more common sense that the heroes usually possessed. Henry, of course, had also let a few things slip, but with Miss Swan reading all their letters, there was a limit on what she could learn from him. And she knew enough about fighting ogres to know that she didn’t want Henry exposed to the details.

“So what’s the plan of attack?”

“You know I can’t tell you that either.” 

She shrugged and asked her real question. “Can you at least tell me how they plan to keep the children safe?”

“Oh, they’ll be staying here, of course. Battle is no place for children.” So Henry was staying. _Good news at last, but are the idiots going?_

Gaston would refuse to answer that question directly of course, but he was far more susceptible to flattery than he thought he was. “You’re a veteran of the Ogre Wars, aren’t you?” she asked.

He nodded proudly, “I am.”

“You sound eager to face them again.”

“With the kingdoms united, I believe that we can defeat them without the Dark One’s intervention,” he boasted. _So they weren’t able to bribe Rumple into helping._ She filed that tidbit away and went fishing for more. From the way the man waxed poetic about Charming’s abilities, Regina was convinced that he must be going. She was 50-50 on Snow (apparently Sir Musclehead could accept women as rulers and Sheriffs but had a harder time with women as military leaders) when they heard footsteps.

“Who goes there?” Gaston called, his hand on his gun. It was late; neither of them were expecting the Sherriff or anyone else. A young woman stepped into view, her hands raised and holding a flashlight.

“Sorry,” she said, “I was exploring the mines, but I seem to have gotten turned around.”

Regina narrowed her eyes, and so did Gaston. She was surprised that he didn’t take the woman’s explanation at face value; she may have underestimated him. “Unauthorized entrance into the mines is prohibited,” he said, his hand still on his gun. If their visitor had been a man, Regina expected that he would have drawn it already.

“Sorry,” she said with a disarming smile. “I didn’t realize. If you could just tell me where the exit is…”

“What is your name?” he demanded.

“Really, I’ll be out of your hair in a minute if you’ll just show me where the exit is. I didn’t know that we weren’t supposed to be down here.”

“Your name,” he repeated. Whatever else could be said for him, the man was persistent; he’d make a decent Black Guard if he weren’t so hung up on honor.

“Jessica,” she said, and Regina doubted that very much.

“This isn’t Starbucks,” she said, getting to her feet. “He’s asking for your full name.” 

“Jessica Green,” she said, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that Regina was addressing her. That was suspicious. Regina didn’t know all the peasants she’d brought over, of course, but they sure as hell knew her.

“I must detain you,” Gaston said, “But if you are telling the truth about your reasons for being here, I’m certain that Queen Snow will show mercy.”

“Oh, that’s not really necessary, is it?” she asked flirtatiously. Regina laughed internally; if the woman intended on seducing him, she’d picked the wrong guard.

Gaston looked affronted. “Place your flashlight on the ground, and put your hands on your head.”

The woman sighed, but did it. Gaston approached her cautiously, circling around her while keeping an eye on the bend in the tunnel where she’d emerged. He must have seen someone because he drew his gun quickly, shouting, “Halt!” But he wasn’t quite fast enough. While he was distracted, the woman pulled some kind of weapon from her waistband and shoved it into his side. He fell to the ground, convulsing, and a balding man jumped into view, flipping Gaston on to his stomach and tying his hands. He also pulled out and pocketed Gaston’s phone and retrieved his gun.

“What do you want?” Regina demanded. They obviously weren’t here for Gaston, but if they tried to break into her cell, they’d be unpleasantly surprised. She’s discovered weeks ago that the cell drained her magic to fortify itself, and any magic she attempted to use was simply absorbed into the barrier. Enough magic made it sizzle with excess energy, and touching it hurt like a bitch; if she could get them near the bars, she could fry these intruders like two strips of bacon. 

What she didn’t know was if the barrier would stop a bullet.

As expected, the man said, “We’re here for you, _Mayor._ ”

She laughed. “Come in and get me, then.” The man and woman shared a look, and the man ordered her at gunpoint to put her hands through the bars. She just cocked an eyebrow, and archly demanded, “Why?”

“Because if you don’t, he’ll blow your head off,” the woman said. She pulled something from her pocket.

Regina just laughed, “Go ahead, then.” She did not cower, and certainly not to two idiots with a gun. Aside from the fact that he hadn’t just shot her right away, the man looked somehow familiar with her; she was sure that he wanted her alive for some reason.

The man narrowed his eyes. “And right after that, how about we go play Henry a visit? Better yet, why don’t we do that now? I feel like you’d be more cooperative if I was pointing this gun at his head.”

She froze. “He’s protected,” she said, “You’ll never get to him.”

“Yeah?” the woman asked. “You know what this does?” She showed Regina her weapon, which Regina could now see was some kind of stun gun.

“It’s a stun gun,” she said, unimpressed.

“We call this the Neutralizer. To a regular person it’s just a stun gun. To someone with magic, it’s deadly. The Sherriff, she has magic, right? I don’t think she’ll be a problem.”

Regina laughed again, and though she couldn’t believe that she was saying it, she said, “I wouldn’t bet on it, if I were you.”

“But are you willing to bet Henry on it?” the man asked. “That’s the question.”

She wasn’t. 

But she still had her card to play. Glaring fiercely, she stuck her hands through the bars, but just barely. The woman smirked and shoved the stun gun back in her waistband, brandishing some kind of wrist cuff. As she snapped it on, Regina grabbed her hands, and yanked her towards the bars, taking a step back herself. The man shouted, but Regina let loose with every bit of magic she had.

Nothing happened. She stared at her wrist.

The woman laughed nastily and pulled away. “Where you attempting to do magic?” she asked, mockingly. “That cuff blocks magic. And you’ll never get it off on your own.”

“Where did you get this?” she demanded. She hadn’t quite believed them about the stun gun, but there was no denying what the cuff did. She felt nothing; not even Rumple’s manacles had done that.

“That’s not really your concern,” the man said, his gun still trained on her. “Now, my partner is going to open your cell, and you’re going to come with us quietly, or I’m going to shoot you, and then we’re going to pay Henry a little visit. Understand?” She just sneered. “Understand?” he repeated, sharply.

“Yes,” she spat.

The woman found the mechanism that operated the bars, and Regina’s cell opened.

XxXxXxX

_Finally._

Finally, they would get justice. They didn’t have all the equipment Greg would have preferred to use, but they would make do. They’d already scouted out an abandoned warehouse near the docks, and they took a dark, circuitous route there. No one spotted them. At this time of night, the town was dead, the last holdout business (the local dive bar) long closed.

The building must have been a slaughterhouse or fish processing plant at some point, because it contained an industrial butcher’s table they’d been able to rig up with straps. The shock device they had in their van was obviously not an option, but Greg would make do with an electric cattle prod.

“So far I’m getting the impression that you don’t remember me,” he said, approaching her with the device.

“You think I kept track of every balding peasant I pissed off?” she scoffed.

He smiled. “So you are a queen, then. Here’s the thing, _Queen Regina_ \- this isn’t your world. You don’t belong here, you and the rest of this town. And yet, somehow, twenty-eight years ago, you brought it here.”

Her eyes widened in realization, and then she glared. “Well. Look who’s all grown up? Little Owen.”

He smiled. “That’s right. And as soon as you tell me what you did with my father, you’re going to tell me how to destroy this monstrosity you’ve created.” Tamara crossed her arms and nodded.

“There is no way to destroy it,” the queen spat, smiling cruelly.

“Then I guess we’re in for a long night, aren’t we?” He shocked her on the leg.

She jerked but didn’t scream. _I guess so._ Teeth bared, he shocked her again.

XxXxXxX

It was damn hard to think, but Regina did not yield. Ever. If nothing else, her mother had taught her that. 

She could just wait it out. Gaston was still alive (probably) and if nothing else, his replacement would be arriving at six. Once they realized she was gone, the hunt would be on for her (again), and if Rumple couldn’t track her down, the wolf certainly could. 

But after nearly an hour (she thought), she wasn’t sure she would last that long. And capture was too good for these bastards; she wanted them dead. Now. 

She grunted as Owen shocked her again, repeatedly. “You want this to stop?” the woman asked. “Tell us what we need to know. How do we destroy magic?”

“You can’t destroy magic, you fool!” Even the trigger she’d made wouldn’t do that; the excess magic would simply return to the Enchanted Forest. _Wait… the trigger. Maleficent._

“Liar,” Owen accused, and he put the probes against her armpit (they’d torn off her jacket ages ago).

“Fine!” she shouted. “Fine! There is a way.” He shocked her once more then stopped, and she resented her feelings of relief.

“Well?” the woman demanded.

“I built a trigger into the curse, a self-destruct in case I needed an out someday.”

The woman smiled. “Where is it?”

“In a cavern in the mines. Let me up and I’ll draw you a map.”

She laughed. “I don’t think so. Tell us where.”

“It’s complicated; you’ll need a map.”

“How about a guide?” Owen asked. “We’ll send you in first; make sure this is not a trap.” _Damn._ “But before that, what did you do with my father?”

She looked his straight in the eyes. “I killed him.”

He stepped back, shocked. _Fool._ “You’re lying.” He brandished the cattle prod again.

“Dig him up yourself,” she spat. “He’s back at your old campsite.”

“You-” he stepped towards her again.

“Greg,” the woman said. “We need her.”

He nodded, his expression hard, his eyes blazing. “Fine. Fine. You’re coming with us, but you are not getting off lightly.”

_Neither are you._

They unstrapped her, and she could barely stand. Not eager to face Maleficent herself, she let her legs buckle, falling to the concrete floor. The burns covering her body screamed in pain, but she refused to. 

“Get up!” Owen shouted.

“I can’t,” she spat. “If you wanted me to walk anywhere, you should have used a more efficient torture method.” And she knew a few. _Amateurs._

“Get up, or a put I a bullet in your head.”

“Then you’re not going to be able to destroy magic, are you? Give me a pen and paper, and I’ll draw you a map.”

“This is a trick,” the woman said. “If you won’t do it, we’ll just find someone else to send in. How about Henry?”

“No!”

“Then get up!”

She used the table as support, buying as much time as possible to think of anyone else toss in their path other than Henry. As hard as it was to admit, she probably wouldn’t be able to make it all the way to Maleficent’s cavern, let alone be able to dodge her new wraith form. 

She couldn’t send them after the heroes; that would put them too close to Henry. And she doubted that, based on what they already knew of the town, they didn’t know about Rumple, so she’d never be able to convince them to go after him. Who then? It had to be someone who was clever, who could take these idiots out without relying on magic. A name popped into her head.

“OK, fine,” she said with false reluctance, “It is a trap. The trigger is guarded. Even I can’t get to it without magic.”

Owen grabbed her by the hair and shook her, “How stupid do you think we are?” _Very._

“I can’t get to it,” she repeated, grabbing at his hands, “But I know someone who can. The problem is getting to him.”

“Who?” the woman asked. “And where?”

“Killian Jones; he’s being held in a prison under the hospital.”

Owen shook her again. “How stupid do you think we are?” he shouted again. 

“If you don’t believe me, we can mosey on over to where the trigger is hidden, and you can see for yourself. It’s being guarded by a wraith. Think your fancy stun gun can take out something that you won’t be able to touch?”

“And this Jones will be able to catch it, that’s what you’re saying?”

“He’s been hunting down magical foes for three hundred years; you’re amateurs next to him.”

“Then how’d he get caught?” the woman scoffed.

“Everyone has their off days,” she said flippantly. Owen jammed the prod against her leg and shocked her again. Her leg spasmed, and she fell to the ground with a grunt.

“Look!” she said, “I can get you into the hospital. I have keys, and they only have two guards at night. There’s an entrance to the mines within half a mile. You can have the trigger well before dawn if you listen to me. That was the point of this right? You wanted to know how to destroy magic; I’m telling you how.”

“Why would you let us destroy your son?” the woman asked, “The one you care oh so much about.” _You’re asking that now?_

“Because it won’t destroy him. He was born in this world. Everyone else will die, but Henry will live. That’s all I care about.”

“You’ll die,” Owen said.

She laughed. “You mean you weren’t going to kill me anyway? Owen, I’m touched.”

Owen stepped back, seething. The woman watched him warily. “OK, OK, here’s what we do,” he said eventually. “If my father is were you say he is, we’ll take your word on Jones. If not, you are in for a whole world of pain.”

_You don’t know the meaning of pain, you sniveling coward._

But she smiled, “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were wondering which books everyone posed with, they are as follows:
> 
> August:  
>  _Watchmen_ by Alan Moore  
>  _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy “Trilogy”_ by Douglas Adams  
>  _The Sandman_ by Neil Gaiman  
>  _Tank Girl_ by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin  
>  _The Time Machine_ by H. G. Wells  
>  _Witches Abroad_ by Terry Pratchett  
>  _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_ by Ronald DiSanto  
>  _Journey to the Interior of the Earth_ by Jules Verne  
>  _The Shining_ by Stephen King  
>  _The Complete Calvin & Hobbes _by Bill Watterson
> 
> Marco:  
>  _Handmade Houses: A Guide to the Woodbutcher’s Art_ by Art Boericke & Barry Shapiro  
>  _The Tools that Built America_ by Alex Bealer  
>  _The Book of Shaker Furniture_ by John Kassay  
>  _Le Avventure di Pinocchio: Storia di un Brattino_ by Carlo Collidui
> 
> Nova:  
>  _Oh, The Places You’ll Go!_ by Dr. Suess  
>  _Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch_ by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett  
>  _The Little House_ by Virginia Lee Burton  
>  _The Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg_ by Bill Peet  
>  _The Tale of Peter Rabbit_ by Beatrix Potter  
>  _The Lorax_ by Dr. Suess  
>  _The Giving Tree_ by Shel Silverstein  
>  _The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe_ by C. S. Lewis  
>  _The Snowy Day_ by Ezra Jack Keats  
>  _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_ by Eric Carle
> 
> Leroy:  
>  _Mining and Mineral Operations in the New England and Mid-Atlantic States: a visitor guide_  
>  _Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel_ by Virginia Lee Burton  
>  _Fore & Aft Sailing Craft, & the Development of the Modern Yacht _by Douglas Phillips-Birt  
>  _Mineral Guide to New England_ by Phillip Morrill and a lot of other people  
>  _The Three Musketeers_ by Alexandre Dumas
> 
> Emma:  
>  _The Song of the Lioness Quartet_ by Tamora Pierce  
>  _I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_ by Maya Angelou  
>  _Anne of Green Gables_ by Lucy Maud Montgomery
> 
> Archie:  
>  _The Sneetches and Other Stories_ by Dr. Suess  
>  _The Cricket in Times Square_ by George Selden  
>  _National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region_  
>  _Charlotte’s Web_ by E. B. White  
>  _Cannery Row_ by John Steinbeck
> 
> Ariel:  
>  _One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish_ by Dr. Suess  
>  _The Rainbow Fish_ by Marcus Pfister  
>  _Swimmy_ by Leo Lionni  
>  _Monet_ by John House  
>  _The Way Things Work_ by Neil Ardley
> 
> Bae:  
>  _Young Avengers Ultimate Collection_  
>  _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_ by J. K Rowling  
>  _The Complete Sherlock Holmes_ by Arthur Conan Doyle  
>  _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ by Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill  
>  _The Catcher in the Rye_ by J. D. Salinger
> 
> Rumple:  
>  _The Prince_ by Niccolo Machiavelli  
>  _The Art of War_ by Sun Tzu  
>  _1984_ by George Orwell  
>  _How to Lie with Statistics_ by Darrell Huff  
>  _The Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe_  
>  _Animal Farm_ by George Orwell  
>  _Heart of Darkness_ by Joseph Conrad
> 
> And finally,
> 
> Belle:  
>  _The Complete Works of William Shakespeare_  
>  _Anna Karenina_ by Leo Tolstoy  
>  _Pride and Prejudice_ by Jane Austen  
>  _A Room Of One’s Own_ by Virginia Woolf  
>  _Watership Down_ by Richard Adams  
>  _The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson_  
>  _Herland_ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman  
>  _The Notebook_ by Nicholas Sparks  
>  _Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret_ by Judy Blume  
>  _To Kill and Mockingbird_ by Harper lee  
>  _Ragtime_ by E. L. Doctorow  
>  _Common Sense_ by Thomas Paine  
>  _Around the World in Eighty Days_ by Jules Verne  
>  _Where the Sidewalk Ends_ by Shel Silverstein  
>  _Matilda_ by Roald Dahl  
>  _Jane Eyre_ by Charlottte Bronte  
>  _Howl’s Moving Castle_ by Diana Wynne Jones  
>  _Persepolis_ by Marjane Satrapi  
>  _The Princess Bride_ by William  
>  _Gray’s Anatomy_
> 
> She wanted more, but Rumple and Nova pointed out that they would not fit in the picture.


	27. Game of Shadows

Tamara finally had to admit that she should have stopped Greg a long time ago. He’d lost sight of the mission, and every delay only increased their chances of getting caught. She’d started audio recording half way through their session with the Queen and took a moment to send the file - including Greg’s decision about this Jones person - to the Home Office with the subject line ‘Please Advise’. She did love Greg, in her own way, but the mission was paramount. Perhaps if she rolled on him, they might be merciful towards her.

It took too long to get to the Greg’s old campsite with their hostage, but the Queen immediately pointed out where she’d buried Greg’s father, and they found the remains within minutes. “I’m going to kill you,” he snarled at her.

“I knew it,” she laughed, “You’re not some righteous warrior out to destroy magic; you’re just a little boy who misses his daddy.”

Greg reached for his gun. “Greg, stop!” Tamara shouted, “Remember the mission. You want your dad to have died for nothing?”

He stopped. “No,” he growled. “All right. We’re finishing this.” He grabbed the Queen and pulled her to her feet. “Get moving.” Tamara circumspectly checked her phone; no response yet. Reluctantly, she followed Greg towards the hospital.

XxXxXxX

“Gold,” Rumplestiltskin sighed into his phone. At this point, he was entertaining the idea of giving up sleep altogether. He didn’t need it back on the Enchanted Forest, and it would only take a few spells to ensure that he didn’t need it here either. But Bae wouldn’t like it, and he wouldn’t get to share a bed with Belle. _Best not, then._

“Regina’s been taken,” Emma said bluntly. “Or escaped. We’re not sure which.”

“Again?” he sighed in aggravation. “Who was it this time?”

“The stranger that came to town last month. And, apparently, he has a partner.”

“ _Damn._ ” 

“Yeah. They took Gaston out with some kind of stun gun, but he’s awake now. We’re on our way to meet him, but we don’t know what they want with Regina, or what she might do. August will keep Henry at the loft; the rest of us are headed to the Sherriff’s Station to meet Gaston.”

“I hope you gave the puppet some handcuffs, considering what happened last time.”

She snorted. “I hope to have Regina back before Henry wakes up.”

“Oh, Miss Swan, your optimism springs eternal. I’m on my way.”

“Thanks, Gold.”

“What’s the matter?” Belle asked as he hung up and stood to dress.

“Regina is missing again, will you…?”

“Keep Bae here until you return?” she asked with a rueful smile. He nodded apologetically. “Is there really nothing we can do to help?”

He sighed again. Why couldn’t she understand that keeping herself and Baelfire safe was the most important thing she could do? “I’ll call you if the Sheriff has any suggestions; they don’t even know what has happened at this point.”

“I understand,” she said, giving him a halfhearted smile. “Good luck, Rumple.”

“Thank you, Sweetheart.”

XxXxXxX

_It never ends._

_How long do we have to put up with this shit?_

As promised, Gold was waiting for them when Emma, David, and Mary Margaret got to the Sherriff’s Station. Gaston was glaring at Gold and leaning against the wall, obviously refusing to show weakness by sitting (he wasn’t a bad guy, really, but the machismo could get old really fast). Gold had already apparently been at work, a glowing dream catcher in his left hand.

“Gaston, are you all right?” Mary Margret asked immediately.

“I’m fine. The Dark One had arranged for you to view my memories of the intruders,” he replied, his tone resentful.

Emma sighed. “Did you even ask first?” she asked Gold.

“I requested. Strongly,” he replied with a little shrug. Emma rolled her eyes.

“Well, let’s see.”

It was indeed the stranger - Greg Mendell, Emma remembered. She didn’t recognize the woman. “Did they call each other by name?” she asked Gaston.

Gaston shook his head. “She called herself Jessica Green, but I think that was a lie. Regina did not appear to recognize her.”

Emma nodded. “Got it. Can you walk us through what happened?”

Gaston flushed in embarrassment, but began his story. Unfortunately, he’d blacked out after they’d stunned him, so he had no idea where they’d taken Regina or if she went willingly. After his story was told, Mary Margaret tried to talk Gaston into either going home or to the hospital, but in the end, it was only Gold’s threat to make the choice for that got him to comply. 

As Gaston left, Emma looked at Gold, “I suppose it’s too much to hope that the strangers dropped anything while they were down there?”

Gold shook his head, “Likely so. However, if Regina was indeed kidnapped for some purpose, we may have a way to track her.”

“Yeah?”

A vial appeared in his hand. “I’ll need a tear from you. With it, I can link your sight with hers. You will see what she sees, feel what she feels. If she is paying attention, she will know you are doing it, and can close her eyes or otherwise interfere with the spell. But if she was kidnapped and desires rescue, she might even aid you.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Let me do it,” Mary Margaret said.

“Mary Margaret-” David began.

“David, you’ve heard Henry; she’s been trying. Even if we can’t trust her, we have an obligation to save her if we can.”

“Mary Margaret, you don’t owe her anything.”

“Like it or not, she’s family, David. And you know that if I don’t do it, Emma will.”

“Yeah,” Emma sighed. She would, but for Henry, not Regina.

“I don’t care which of you does it, but I suggest you decide quickly,” Gold drawled.

“Me,” Mary Margret said, immediately stepping forward.

“Very well. Think of something very painful. Preferably something to do with Regina.”

Mary Margaret swallowed, but stood very still until her eyes filed with tears. Blinking, she let them fall, and Gold collected one in the vial. He shook it briefly, then handed it to her. “Drip this into your eye. Be aware, the effects are not long lasting.”

She did, and after a long moment, she gasped and pitched forward. “What?” David asked, stepping forward to catch her, “What is it?”

“Pain,” she hissed. “She’s in pain. Walking. I see woods... They’re with her, those people. The man has a gun.”

“Any landmarks?” Emma asked quickly. She was _not_ explaining to Henry that Regina had been kidnapped and killed on her watch.

“I see some kind of building… it’s large - the hospital!”

_The hospital?_ “Can you get us there, Gold?” Emma asked. 

“Certainly. I warn you; many people find this disorienting.”

Purple smoke everywhere, and the linoleum under Emma’s feet was replaced with moss and pine needle strewn dirt. She staggered, trying not to be sick. When she looked up, Gold and David were already looking around for their targets.

“I’m losing it.” Mary Margaret said, her hand over her eye. 

“There!” David shouted, pointing.

It was hard to see in the dark, but in the dim light from the hospital, Emma spotted three vague shapes, and the glint of light on metal. She ducked behind a tree, taking Mary Margaret with her. “Did the others spot us?” she asked Mary Margaret.

She shook her head. “It’s gone, I can’t tell.” But Emma didn’t suppose it mattered. David and Gold (probably mostly David) were making more than enough noise to tip them off. She heard a woman’s shout that got abruptly cut off.

Emma drew her gun and ducked back around the tree, keeping herself between Mary Margaret and the strangers. But Gold seem to have it well in hand, a ball of fire merrily hovering above his left palm and clearly illuminating Regina and the strangers, who were all frozen in place.

Regina looked like hell. Her jacket and pantyhose were long gone, and her arms and legs were covered in burn marks. But that didn’t mean she was down for the count. “Let me go, you idiot,” she told Gold haughtily.

“No, I don’t think I will,” he taunted.

“Gold,” Emma snapped, “Knock it off. Let her go.”

He looked back at her. “Not until she can answer the question of what she is doing with these two fine individuals. Once she was free of the cell, she could have left them at any time. Why didn’t you, dearie?”

“Because I couldn’t,” she snapped. “These two morons belong to some kind of magic-hunting cult; this cuff they put on me blocks magic. Don’t believe me? Put it on an find out.”

“She’s telling the truth,” Emma said, holstering her gun and stepping towards Regina. “Drop the spell, Gold.”

He sighed. “If you insist.” Regina’s knees gave out immediately, and Emma jumped forward to catch her.

“Let me go,” Regina snarled, “I don’t need your help.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Sure you don’t. What did they do to you?”

“Aside from kidnapping me - again - from your custody, Sherriff? None of your business. Get off of me!”

“Regina,” Mary Margaret said in a tone Emma was sure would set Regina off like a firecracker. Emma huffed.

“Oh, don’t even try! You’re supposed to be keeping this town safe, and you let two magic hunters waltz right in?” Regina finally managed to push Emma away, but the force of her push landed her on her ass. “Dammit!” She started clawing at the cuff.

Gold grabbed her wrist, “Now, now, none of that, dearie.”

“Let go of me, imp,” she hissed. “Where were your precious barriers? Or was that just another lie?”

“That, dearie, is a very good question. What say we take these prisoners to somewhere more secluded and find out? But first, I want a look at this miraculous cuff.” She swung at him with her other hand. He just dodged the blow and laughed, and David jumped in.

“Let her go,” he said, “You can have a look at the cuff after we get it off.”

“Deal,” he said, releasing Regina’s wrist. Emma rolled her eyes. _He really can be a pain in the ass._

“Can you walk?” Emma asked Regina, extending a hand for her to take.

Regina glared at it, but after several aborted attempts to get to her feet, she grudgingly took it. Obviously hating every minute of it, Regina leaned against Emma in an effort to keep her footing. Emma didn’t suppose the heels helped.

Emma looked over at Gold, who was now examining the immobile strangers like bugs in a jar. “Can I trust you and David to get these two to the Sherriff’s Station?”

“Cer-” Gold froze, his eyes locked on something in the woods. “Run,” he said.

“What?” Emma demanded. She couldn’t see what he was looking at. Gold thrust his hand towards them, and Emma, Regina, David, and Mary Margaret found themselves transported the ER. Regina, of course, lost her footing, and Emma, nauseous from the sudden teleportation, couldn’t support both of them. They landed on the floor on a heap.

“Rumple!” Regina hissed.

“He’s not here,” David said.

“Did you see what he was looking at?” Emma asked him.

“I think… it might have been Pan’s Shadow.”

_Shit._

XxXxXxX

“Now how did you get here, dearie?” Rumplestiltskin demanded, his gaze never wavering from the Shadow’s glowing eyes. “Where is your master?” _Fire. Bae said it’s attracted to fire._

Rumplestiltskin conjured a circle of flame around the Shadow. It crouched down, as if examining it, then shot into the air, arching over the circle and straight towards him. He desperately summoned a shield of pure light to ward it off, but in his distraction, he had forgotten the two prisoners.

Something slammed into his side, and then all he could feel was pain.

XxXxXxX

“Run!” Tamara shouted, Gold dropping to the ground as she nailed him with the neutralizer. They’d heard a lot about this guy from their surveillance, and from the way he was able to freeze them in place, it seemed like it was all true. He was exactly the kind of enemy the neutralizer was made for.

Greg backed up a step, staring at the thing that had caught Gold’s attention. It looked like some kind of shadow monster. Tamara brandished the neutralizer at it. “Run!” she said again. They had only one neutralizer; Greg wasn’t armed with anything that could fight something like this.

“We need to stick together,” he said.

“Come on,” she challenged the shadow, “Come and get some of this!” But apparently, it was smarter than that. It stared at her a moment before sweeping around towards Greg. “Greg!” She charged at the shadow, and it flew backwards, away from her. She grabbed Greg’s arm. “We need to get out of here.” The shadow aside, the Sherriff and her posse could be back for Gold any minute. _At least we took one of them out._

Greg nodded, his eyes still locked on the shadow. “OK. OK.” She stared backing up, dragging Greg with her. She kept stumbling into things, but the shadow seemed to have decided against following them; it just stood there as they backed away.

After hitting her third tree, she said, “Come on, we need to run.” It would be difficult to see in the dark, but they couldn’t just stay where they were.

Greg nodded again, looking dazed. “OK. Let’s go.” She turned, yanking on his arm. After a moment, he turned and ran with her. 

XxXxXxX

“We need to go after Gold,” Emma said. David nodded; the Dark One was their biggest magical asset right now, and they needed magic to fight Pan’s Shadow.

“Do what you want,” Regina said, “Just take this cuff off first.”

“When we get back, we’ll talk about it,” Emma said.

“What?! You can’t-”

“You’re still in custody Regina. How do we know you won’t just run off once we take that cuff off?”

“I won’t!”

Emma sighed. “You’re lying. Just stay here, cooperate with the nurses. You,” she said to the head nurse, “You make sure that cuff stays on, all right? We’ll be right back.”

“Yes, Sherriff,” the nurse said.

Emma ran for the door. “Come on!” David and Mary Margaret hurried after her. 

“At least he didn’t send us far,” David said, as they burst out the ER doors.

“Yeah. I don’t hear anything; I hope that’s a good sign,” Emma replied.

It wasn’t. They found Rumplestiltskin collapsed on the ground, the Shadow and the magic hunters nowhere to be seen. “Gold? Gold!” Emma shouted. She knelt next to him and put her fingers to his neck.

“He can’t be dead,” Mary Margaret pointed out, “He’s the Dark One.”

“His pulse is going crazy.” Emma looked it his hand; it was twitching. “I think he’s having some kind of seizure. At least we’re close to the ER. David, grab his legs.”

“Do you think we should move him?” David Nolan’s memories were telling him it was a bad idea to move someone who was having a seizure. Prince Charming was wondering how the hell the Dark One could possibly be having a seizure in the first place. _What is that Shadow capable of?_

“Everyone says he can’t die, and the paramedics are not getting a gurney through these woods. The quickest way out of here is for us to carry him. Mary Margaret, go let the ER know we’re coming.”

“OK,” she said.

Emma grabbed his shoulders, and David took his legs. The paramedics met them just outside the doors. Regina was still there, fighting with a nurse who was trying to get her into an examination room. “What the hell happened?” she demanded.

Emma glared at her, but told the nurses, “We think he got attacked by Pan’s Shadow. We don’t really know what it can do.”

“Baelfire might,” Mary Margaret said, taking out her phone.

“Good idea,” Emma said, stepping back to let the paramedics take a look at Gold. 

“What about the outsiders?” Regina pressed.

“They got away.”

“Hm.” 

“What?” Emma asked, turning to her. “You know something. What is it?”

“Why should I help you?” Regina asked, her eyes narrowing. “Or him. Do you have any idea the hell he’s put me through?”

“I read the Book, so yeah, I do. But he’s also our best bet against a magical psycho who wants Henry. Did you miss that the Shadow is here? We need Gold!”

“And how did the Shadow get here, Miss Swan? Rumple was supposed to keep it out, wasn’t he? That’s the man you want to put your faith in?”

“So maybe Gold betrayed us; he’s still the guy with the answers. I can’t interrogate him if he dies!”

Regina scoffed. “He’s not going to die; he’s the Dark One. He’s immortal.”

Emma shook her head. “Every goddamn time, Regina. Every time I think you might possibly be getting your act together, you pull something like this. Can’t you for once put Henry first?!”

Regina grit her teeth. “I didn’t leave Henry home alone with Shadows and magic hunters on the loose!”

“Henry’s not alone; August is with him.”

“The puppet? Oh, he certainly has a great track record looking after children.” 

“Regina, Emma, stop!” Mary Margaret said. “Bae and Belle are on their way. If you’re not going to help, Regina, just let the nurses take a look at you.” She looked at Emma. “And I can call August if you think Henry should be here.”

Emma sighed. “If these magic hunter people can block Regina’s magic, I’m not sure those blood wards will hold. I’ll call August.”

“Finally,” Regina said, “Sanity prevails.” She sat heavily, and David was reminded of the shape she was in.

“I’ll call Doc,” he said. “Someone should have a look at you while Whale works on Gold.”

“A dwarf? I’ll take my chances with the nurses.”

“Of course, your Highness,” the head nurse sighed. “This way, please.”

“I want to see Henry when he gets here,” Regina insisted. “Assuming the puppet can even manage that.”

“We’ll talk about it,” Emma said through gritted teeth, but she knew as well as David did that after what Regina had been through, they wouldn’t be able to keep Henry away.

_What a mess._

XxXxXxX

Belle spotted Emma with Henry and August as soon as they got to the ER. The entire jog to the hospital, Belle had lamented that she had not yet asked Rumple to show her how to drive his car. That would be the first thing she asked for after this latest crisis was over.

“Where is he?” Belle asked Emma immediately. Bae was silent and had been since they’d left.

“I don’t know; we haven’t heard anything yet. But you guys are next of kin; they might be able to tell you more.” 

After what seemed to Belle like a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy, they were able to learn that Dr. Whale was preforming some kind of tests on Rumple. “We really have no idea what happened,” Emma explained. “We just found him in the woods, having some kind of seizure. He saw something and sent us all here; David thinks it might have been Pan’s Shadow.”

“Is his shadow missing?” Bae asked urgently.

“I…what?”

“His shadow. The Shadow kills by taking its victims’ shadows; then they belong to Pan. I didn’t think it could do that to my father.” He looked at Belle as if asking for an explanation, but she hadn’t thought that the Shadow could harm Rumple either.

“I didn’t notice anything weird, but let’s have Whale check.” They sent the message through the nurse, and as they waited Emma told them, her voice low, “There’s something else. I think Regina might have some idea what happened.”

“What?” Belle demanded angrily. _Hasn’t that woman hurt us enough?_

“It might have something to do with the people who took her; she says they’re magic hunters. They were there too, and they got away.”

Belle and Bae shared a look. Everyone in town knew that the Dark One possessed more magic than anyone in town save, perhaps, Reul Ghorm. “Let me talk to her,” Belle said.

“No, let me,” Henry interrupted. “She’ll listen to me.”

“Kid…”

“She’ll help if I ask her to; I know she will.”

Bae looked away, doubtful, but said nothing. He, of all people, knew that Henry had to believe that Regina could be better. Belle had trouble believing it was possible, but for Rumple - and for Henry - she could try. “You will know if she is being truthful, Emma. Please, let Henry try.”

Emma sighed. “Fine. Can you let whoever is with Regina know that we need to talk to her?” she asked the long-suffering nurse. She gave them a pinched look, but passed the message along. “It may be a few minutes,” she said.

“Fine,” Emma said.

Belle looked at Bae, who was staring at the floor, his arms crossed over his chest. “He’ll be all right,” she said. She had to believe that was true.

“Yeah, sure,” Bae muttered.

As they waited, Emma showed them the dream catcher of Gaston’s memories, just in case they had seen the woman somewhere in Storybrooke. Bae and Belle hadn’t, but August stared at it in shock. “Wait, _that’s_ her?”

“Yes,” Emma said, “You’ve seen her around?”

“No,” August said, his eyes wide, “Not here. In Hong Kong. You remember that guy I told you about, the Dragon?”

“Yeah… You said he died.”

“Yeah, I… I thought it was a heart attack or something. But she… she was one of his customers. What if…”

“… she killed him,” Emma finished. “We really need to know what Regina knows.” Belle bit her lip and nodded.

XxXxXxX

They were far enough away to be able to slow down and catch their breaths when Tamara’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She knew it was the Home Office, but she didn’t know if this communication would save her or sink her.

“What the hell was that thing?” she demanded of no one in particular. Magic was one thing, but that shadow had looked like something straight out of a nightmare. _A demon? A real demon? We need that trigger; we need to blow this place sky high._

“I don’t know,” Greg replied, panting.

“At least I got one of them,” she said. That was something; one more dead magic user.

Greg nodded. “But the Queen got away.”

Tamara grit her teeth. They were only in this mess because of Greg’s beef with the Queen. “So what now?”

“We regroup. If we can get that trigger, we can wipe this place out.”

“They could be waiting for us there.”

Greg glared at her. “You want to give up now? Leave?”

“No! But we have to be smart about this. I need… I need a minute. I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“To pee!” she lied, stomping away.

“Fine!”

Once there were more than a few trees between them, Tamara crouched down and took out her phone, carefully shielding the screen so he wouldn’t see the glare. The message was not at all what she was expecting. _The Truest Believer, huh? Maybe there’s a way out of this after all._


	28. Let's Make a Deal

“Mom?” Henry asked carefully. Emma had told him to be prepared to see his Mom all covered in bandages. She was right, and it was scary, but his Mom was still smiling at him. 

“Henry,” she said, reaching out her hand. He took it, sitting on the bed next to her.

“Are you OK?”

“I’ll be fine, honey.” Then she noticed Belle. “What are you doing here?”

“She wants to know if you can help Mr. Gold,” Henry said. “They don’t know what’s wrong with him. He still has his shadow, so Bae doesn’t think the Shadow did it.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. Henry could tell that she knew more than she was saying.

“Bae said the Shadow kills people by taking their shadows. Mr. Gold still has his, so that couldn’t be what’s wrong with him.” Mom looked at Emma.

“And what are you doing to protect Henry from this Shadow?”

“Trying to revive the guy who can help us fight it,” Emma said, her hand on her hips. “Can you help or not?”

“Please, Mom,” Henry said. “You’ve got to help Mr. Gold. He’s Bae’s Dad, and he can help with the Shadow. And the people that kidnapped you.”

Henry’s Mom squeezed his hand, then looked at the strange cuff on her wrist. “I might be able to help, but you’re going to have to take this cuff off,” she told Emma.

“No,” Belle said, “Tell us what you know. If it’s magic, Nova can do it-”

“It’s not,” Mom said. “Look, I could be wrong, but Tweedle-dum and his little partner told me they have some kind of stun gun that kills magic users. You said they got away; maybe they zapped him with it.”

Emma and August shared a look. “They used a stun gun on Gaston. And if you’re right about the Dragon…”

“What dragon?” Mom asked. “Please don’t tell me Maleficent got out! That’s the last thing we need!”

“No… the Dragon. The magic user August met in Hong Kong. He died, and this woman was one of his customers…” 

Mom stared at August. “Well, then; looks like they might have been telling the truth after all. They told me their little toy stuns regular people, but kills those of us with magic. But there’s no way they could have something that can kill the Dark One; he’s immortal. What if it’s attacking his magic instead? Slap this cuff on him, and maybe he’ll wake up.”

Henry looked at Emma. Belle was right; she would know if his Mom was telling the truth. Emma crossed her arms. “And what are you going to do if we take that cuff off?”

“I’m going to protect Henry, since you idiots have apparently been letting Shadows and magic hunters waltz right in to my town.”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “You gonna run off again, like you did with Cora?”

“Leave my mother out of this!”

“Mom, please! You’re going to stay and help us fight the Shadow, right?”

“Henry…”

“Please, you have to!”

“Henry, I need to keep you safe-”

“Do you have any idea how much you sound like my father when you say that?” Bae asked suddenly, his voice tired. 

Henry’s Mom sat up straight. “This isn’t-”

“The same thing? Yes, yes it is; it’s exactly the same thing. He thinks he can do everything on his own because he’s the Dark One,” Bae said bitterly. “But he was wrong, wasn’t he? And if you’re right, and these people are the ones who did this to him, what chance do you have on your own? And the Shadow? The Shadow will kill you. My father’s immortal, but you? You’re not. If you really want to protect Henry, you’ll help us instead of going off by yourself.”

“Please, Mom,” Henry said. “Pease stay. I don’t want to lose you.” 

She looked like she might cry. She squeezed his hand again and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she said. “All right, Henry.”

“Yeah?” he asked hopefully.

She smiled and nodded. “Yeah.” She looked at Emma. “I think I know where they’re going. Take the cuff off, and I’ll tell you. And you can try to save Gold.”

Emma stared at her, then she turned to Bae and Belle. “She’s telling the truth.”

Belle clasped her hands in front of her. “Then let’s hurry.”

XxXxXxX

_I can help you._

Greg thought he was going insane. 

_I can give you want you need._

There was a whispering voice in his head, and he knew it was that thing. It had followed them. _Go away!_ He wanted to scream at it, but he knew Tamara; if she knew it was making him lose it, she’d take him out. The mission always came first with her, and she was already starting to doubt him.

He jumped when he heard rustling brush. “Greg!” Tamara said, returning to the small clearing, “I got a message from the Home Office.”

“What does it say?” he asked suspiciously.

“They changed the mission parameters. The Mayor’s kid is something called the Truest Believer; they’ve been looking for him. All we have to do it bring him to a drop-off point, and we’re in the clear.”

Greg stared at her. “And what about the town?”

“With him, they can take care of the town, and any other magic on Earth. He’s the key; the one they have been looking for this whole time.”

Greg narrowed his eyes. “How do they know it’s him?” 

“They figured it out from your early reports.”

_She’s lying to you._

Greg stiffened. The shadow was right behind him, whispering in his ear. Somehow, Tamara didn’t see it. “Greg, don’t you see? We don’t need the trigger if we can get the kid.”

_She told them what you’ve done. She’s lost faith in you._

Greg scoffed. “You think the kid will be easier? They have him under constant guard; you know that!”

“It’s the mission,” she said firmly. “And besides, I have an idea.”

“What idea?”

“They’ve got the Queen, now, right? She probably told them about the trigger. We make it look like we’re going after it, and while they all head down to the mines, we snatch the kid.”

“And how do you propose to do that?”

“We go after the pirate, just like the Queen said.”

“And how are we going to do that without the Queen?”

“I didn’t say we had to succeed; just make it look like we tried.”

“Do we even know where the kid is?”

_I can find him. He is the Truest Believer._

_Wait, what?_ Greg spun around. How did it know what the Truest Believer was? “Greg!” Tamara shouted, spotting the shadow and grasping for the neutralizer. “Get back!”

The shadow stared at her with its glowing eyes. “Get away!” Greg shouted. The shadow obeyed, disappearing into the darkness around them.

Greg looked at Tamara. “We need to contact the Home Office about that thing.”

Her eyes wide, Tamara nodded.

XxXxXxX

“John!” Michael said, “The Shadow! It’s there!”

“What?” John asked, hurrying over to peer at Michael’s phone.

“Greg and Tamara saw it; it tried to make contact with them.”

They hadn’t heard from the Shadow - and thus Pan - in well over a month. They did not know if they had upset Pan somehow or if he was simply occupied elsewhere, but without its guidance, they’d made no progress finding the boy. Until Tamara’s communication had come. 

A boy, born in this world, living in a magical town no one could access? They knew it had to be the same boy Pan had told them to adopt eleven years ago. The fact that Jones was also there could not be a coincidence. It was the Truest Believer, the boy Pan would trade their sister for. 

And now the Shadow was there. “What do we tell them?” Michael asked.

“We tell them to give it what it wants.”

XxXxXxX

Regina had been right. As soon as they put the cuff on Papa, he’d stopped seizing. His fingers stopped twitching, and the erratic beeps from the machine measuring his heart rate began to slow to a more regular rhythm. Dr. Whale took out a small flashlight and shined it in Papa’s eyes. 

“It worked,” Belle said, sighing in relief.

“I won’t say he’s out of the woods yet,” Dr. Whale said, “But the cuff does seem to have been the key. All that’s left is to make sure he remains stable and wait for him to wake up.”

“Thank you,” Belle said. Dr. Whale stepped back, and she sat on the edge of the bed, taking Papa’s now still hand in hers.

“You’ll be all right, Rumple. You were so brave, protecting everyone from the Shadow.”

_But the Shadow didn’t do this._ As frightened as Bae was of the Shadow, knowing that there were regular people out there with the means to hurt his father was somehow worse. If there had been one thing he could count on, it was that his father was invulnerable; as long as no one got a hold of the dagger, nothing could touch him. Bae might lose him to his curse, but no one could take him away - not like they could when he was a poor spinner.

Bae hadn’t realized before how much he was taking that fact for granted. It wouldn’t be fair to find his father, work so hard to forgive him, and then lose him like this. _Once he gives up his curse, he’ll be vulnerable._ Bae hadn’t thought he would ever second-guess his desire for his father to no longer be the Dark One.

He imagined that finding out that he’d been wrong was the price of something, but for the life of him, Bae couldn’t guess what.

XxXxXxX

Tamara stared at her phone, stunned. “What?” Greg asked, “What did they say?”

She looked up at him. “They said to give it whatever it wants.”

“What?” 

“See for yourself.” She handed him the phone.

The communication read, “ _We are aware of the Shadow. You must provide it with anything it requests. Failure to do so will result in failure of the mission._ ”

_What the hell is going on?_ “What are you?” he shouted into the darkness. They were running out of time and options. Tamara may have killed Gold, but the Queen was still alive, now in protected custody. The sun would be rising soon, and the Home Office had advised them to cooperate with some kind of demon. Nothing made sense anymore.

_I am the Shadow._

Greg spun around, the shadow just behind him. Tamara lifted the neutralizer defensively, but said nothing.

“Did you hear that?” Greg asked.

“I heard whispers.”

“What do you want?” Greg demanded.

_I want to live._

“Live?”

“Greg,” Tamara interrupted, “You can understand it?”

He nodded, not taking his eyes away from the monster in front of him. “What do you mean, live?”

_I must return to my home. There is much magic there. Magic that can give you anything you desire._

“Can magic raise the dead?” Greg scoffed.

_No._

“Thought so.”

_But it can punish the living._

Greg looked at Tamara, who was staring at him in concern. “What do you know about the Truest Believer?” Greg asked.

_The heart of the Truest Believer has great magic._

“Is that why you want?”

_My master desires it._

“Who is your master?”

_Peter Pan._

Greg laughed. “Peter Pan? Seriously?

_Yes. I must return to him._

“Let me guess - to Neverland?”

_Yes._

“This is insane!” The Shadow said nothing.

“This is… Peter Pan’s shadow?” Tamara asked in disbelief.

“That’s what it says! OK, Shadow, how will getting you to Neverland help us destroy magic?”

_Magic cannot be destroyed._

“That’s a lie!”

_It is truth. Magic may change form, but it cannot be destroyed._

“Then how were you planning on giving me what I want?”

_You want revenge. I can help you with revenge. For a price._

“Getting you to Neverland?”

_Yes._

“And how are we even supposed to do that?”  
_  
Magic beans._

“Magic… magic beans?” Greg shoved the phone back at Tamara. “Ask the Home Office about magic beans.”

“Fine, take this.” She exchanged the neutralizer for her phone. Greg leveled it at the shadow.

_I can help you kill your enemies. The witch. Without me, you will fail._

“You don’t know that!” Greg shouted.

_I do. The Dark One lives._

“The Dark One… that’s Gold right? Tamara killed him.”

_I do not know that name. The Dark One was struck by your weapon, but was not killed. It cannot be killed._

“How do you know that?”

_All know of the Dark One. I can show you magic. Youth. Power._

“In Neverland?”

_Yes._

“Can you can show us magic here, in Storybrooke?” Greg asked sharply, glancing at Tamara. She looked up from her phone, eyeing the Shadow warily.

_Yes._

“What about the trigger?”

_I do not know that word._

“It’s a thing that supposedly can blow this whole town sky high. It’s supposed to be in the mines.”

_There is great dark magic in the mines. There is danger._

“Greg,” Tamara said. “The Home Office says that magic beans create portals.”

“This is insane,” Greg muttered.

“What did it say?” Tamara asked.

“It said there is ‘great dark magic’ in the mines. It also confirmed that Gold is the Dark One, but it says he’s not dead.”

“Impossible,” Tamara said. “He had magic; the neutralizer would have taken him out.”

“It said he can’t be killed.”

“Greg, you saw him go down!”

_He lives still._

“Well, that’d be easy to check, wouldn’t it? If we could get into the hospital.” They had no good options left. There were two of them against an entire town of magic users, and the Home Office was asking them to work with a demon.

_I can help you._

“How?”

_I can move unseen. I can take shadows._

“Take shadows? What does that mean?”

_Without the shadow, the body dies._

“Can you kill people?”

_Yes._

“Can you kill the Queen?”

_I can take her shadow._

“OK, here’s the deal, then. You kill the Queen, you get us that trigger, and we take you back to Neverland.”

“What? Greg-” 

“Do you have any better ideas?” Greg shouted. “Maybe there’s a reason the Home Office does business with this thing.” _Or maybe Storybrooke isn’t the target at all - maybe Neverland is._

Tamara’s glare was accusing and angry, but she conceded. “Fine,” she growled. Greg looked at the shadow. It had already gone.

XxXxXxX

Everything hurt.

Rumplestiltskin groaned. “Rumple? Rumple!” Belle called, and Rumplestiltskin felt soft fingers brush the hair away from his face. “Can you hear me?”

“B- Belle.”

“Yes,” she said sweetly, “How are you feeling?”

Feeling? He was feeling terrible. He ached all over, and… his eyes flew open. “The Shadow! The Shadow - where’s Bae?”

“I’m here, Papa,” Bae said. He was sitting on Rumplestiltskin’s other side, a magazine in his lap.

“Bae…” Rumplestiltskin reached out a hand, and Bae took it with a strained smile.

“I’m all right, Papa. Henry’s here too; he’s in with Regina.”

“Good, good. Help me…” he struggled to sit up, wondering what, precisely, the Shadow had done. And how did it get here? His barriers were sound; he knew they were. _It can’t be stopped; Pan can’t be stopped. It is your destiny. He is your undoing._

Belle looped an arm around his back and helped him. Bae was staring at something. Rumplestiltskin followed his gaze, his eyes falling on his own wrist, now wrapped in the leather cuff Regina had been wearing earlier “What is this?” he asked in confusion. His heart began to pound, and he looked at Belle then Bae. _Why would they do this? Why would they try to control me?_

“It blocks magic,” Bae explained quietly. “Whatever the strangers did to you, it attacked your magic; Regina thought this might be the only way to stop it. She was right.”

“The strangers… not the Shadow?” Rumplestiltskin tried to recall exactly that had happened. The Shadow had swopped towards him, and then he’d felt pain. But not from the front, from the side. _Where the woman was standing._

“You’ve still got your shadow,” Bae pointed out. “And Regina said that stun gun they have knocks out regular people, but kills magic users.”

“But you can’t die,” Belle continued, “So it kept attacking your magic. We needed to suppress it so that the weapon would let you be.”

“How do I get it off?” He _needed_ his magic.

His mouth grim, Bae reached out and opened the cuff, pulling it off Rumplestiltskin’s wrist and holding it out to him. “The wearer can’t get it off, but anyone else can.”

Rumplestiltskin swallowed, taking the cuff carefully. “Thank you, Bae.” As soon as the cuff was off, his pain had started to ease.

“How are you feeling?” Belle asked again.

“Fine now, sweetheart, but I believe I will need a word with Regina.”

“If you’re sure you’re up to it…”

“I’m fine,” he repeated, “And we have no time to waste. The Shadow is here, and I take it the strangers escaped?” he asked, pushing his legs over the side of the bed and lurching to his feet. He was dressed in a hospital gown, and he staggered when he used magic to summon a new suit (no way in the seven hells was he facing Regina dressed in a backless hospital gown). Belle reached out to steady him, while Bae retrieved his cane from somewhere.

“Rumple…”

He shook his head. “There is no time.” 

He took his cane from Bae, who only said, “I’ll go find Emma. We’re going to need everyone for this.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded, “You are probably correct, and she can test the veracity of anything Regina tells us.”

Bae, his expression tense, took half a step back and then, seeming to change his mind, took a quick step forward to lock Rumplestiltskin in a tight embrace. “Oh, Bae, don’t worry, I’ll protect you, son,” Rumplestiltskin assured him. _Even if I don’t survive this, you will; I swear it._

Bae gave him an odd look and shook his head. “I’ll go get Emma,” he said softly, pulling away. 

Once he was gone, Belle sighed. “Rumple, he was worried about _you_.”

“… Oh.”

Aside from a brief run-in with Dr. Whale, who left quickly after Rumplestiltskin, ahem, _insisted_ that he was fully recovered, the walk to Regina’s room was uneventful. Not so much their arrival, however. 

“So it worked,” the former Queen said in an unimpressed voice.

“It did, though you still seem a bit ragged around the edges, dearie.”

“Rumple,” Belle scolded while Charming ( _not trusting her alone with Henry, are they?_ ), sighed. Rumplestiltskin looked at Belle with what might qualify as an apologetic smile if he were actually sorry. Belle gave him an annoyed look then tilted her eyes towards Henry. _Ah, right._

“Can you heal my Mom?” Henry asked. 

“I don’t need him to, Henry,” Regina said quickly. “My magic will take care of it eventually.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded, taking a seat. In truth, he wasn’t quite recovered from whatever that weapon had done. “Regina isn’t quite the Dark One, Henry, but magic protects its own.”

“Oh.”

“So why are you here, other than to gloat?” Regina demanded.

“No gloating, dearie; I’m here for answers, same as you.”

“Me?”

“Now that I have possession of this intriguing cuff, and I see my manacles haven’t made an appearance, you could have left at any time. Why haven’t you? Because you’d like to know about the Shadow, now that you’re convinced it’s a danger.”

“Yes, I’d like to know about the Shadow! How did it get through your precious barriers, Gold?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Of course you don’t,” she laughed darkly. “And the strangers?”

“They looked rather travel worn to me. I’d wager they crossed back into town shortly after our balding friend was escorted out, which was, unfortunately, several days before I was able to get the final barrier up.”

“So they’ve been here how long?”

“If I’m right? Over five weeks.”

Regina looked at Charming. “Excellent patrols you have there.”

“Could the Shadow have also been here since before the barriers were erected?” Belle asked.

“I supposed it’s possible, but I don’t know why it would not have immediately taken Henry and fled. You haven’t seen it, have you lad?” Henry shook his head.

“Am I correct that no one has left town?” Rumplestiltskin asked Charming.

“Not as far as we know. With that curse still on the town line, no one wants to take the chance.”

“One person did leave, Rumple,” Belle said. Everyone looked at her. “Ariel, remember? When she retrieved the squid ink for us?”

“Yes,” he said in realization, “And then she returned. Through a portal.”

“That the Shadow could have followed her through,” Regina groused, “That stupid fish!”

“Mom!” Henry objected, “I’m sure she didn’t mean it!”

Regina looked ready to retort, but struggled with her barb-ready tongue with Henry’s brown eyes pleading at her. “If that is what happened,” Rumplestiltskin said, “We are very fortunate.”

“What? You must be crazy!”

“ _Think_ , Regina. If the Shadow followed Ariel, that means the barriers are in tact; it cannot return to Pan. It also means that it has been here for more three weeks, and has not harmed anyone - why? Presumably because Pan did not tell it to. It was probably meant to gather information, but found itself trapped, unable to communicate with Pan. It will be weakened from being so long from Neverland; this is our chance to destroy it! Without it, Pan can never come after Henry.”

“Sounds good to me,” Emma said from the doorway. Bae, Mary Margaret, and the puppet were behind her. “That was the original plan, after all.” Rumplestiltskin nodded as they filed in. Bae and the puppet were carrying enough coffee for every adult in the room (plus Bae… and the puppet) and a bottle of orange juice that was presumably for Henry.

“And what about the strangers?” Regina asked peevishly as the cups were distributed. 

“That’s where you come in, dearie,” Rumplestiltskin said, taking his coffee from Bae with a grateful smile. “What did you manage to learn about them?”

“They’re some kind of religious fanatics who are trying to destroy magic-” Rumplestiltskin snorted. “Exactly,” Regina drawled. “They have that weapon they took you down with, and they got that from somewhere; the cuff too. But there are only two of them-”

“You’re certain?”

“They’re getting desperate; if they had back-up, they’d have called it in already. You did get those patrols set up in the mines, right?” she asked Emma.

Emma nodded. “Yup. Got the trigger too.”

Regina nodded. “Good.”

“Trigger?” Rumplestiltskin asked.

Emma pulled a large gem out of her pocket. “Regina’s self-destruct switch.”

Rumplestiltskin narrowed his eyes, reaching out for it. “That wasn’t part of the curse.”

“Forgive me for not trusting you,” Regina sneered. “I wanted a way out that you didn’t know about.” She eyed the cup the puppet was offering her with suspicion, refusing to take it. He just rolled his eyes and left it on the side table.

Emma held the jewel out for Rumplestiltskin to take. “Don’t drop it,” she warned.

“Don’t give it to him!” Regina objected.

Rumplestiltskin sneered. “I’ve got the same reason to leave this town in tact that you do, dearie, and if I desired otherwise, I wouldn’t need your little trinket.” Emma rolled her eyes as he took the gem. He examined it. Despite himself, he was impressed; original spell work was not Regina’s strong suit.

“So what now?” Emma asked. “How do we destroy the Shadow?”

“Fire,” Rumplestiltskin said.

“Cool,” Henry said. Both of his mothers looked at him.

“You’re sitting this one out, kid,” Emma said.

“Finally, something we agree on,” Regina drawled.

“But-”

“No buts. I’ll give August my handcuffs if I have to; you’re not getting in the middle if this.”

Regina eyed the puppet. “You are not cuffing my son to a radiator.”

“Of course not. I’d cuff him to me,” he said cheekily.

“Well, that’s one way to make sure he’ll never see battle,” she said in a nasty tone.

“Exactly,” the puppet replied, nodding decisively and taking a sip of his coffee. Henry sighed noisily, shaking his juice with unnecessary vigor. Regina seemed put out that her little dig hadn’t worked. One truth about the puppet: he was difficult to offend. 

“So, fire,” Emma said, “Care to be more specific?”

“I’m not sure I can at this time. It was attracted to my fire circle, but then broke free of it. But it is an elemental creature of pure darkness; fire can destroy it, if we can trap it long enough. I might have an object that could do it, if we can get close enough.”

“What object?” Regina asked.

“Pandora’s Box. It can trap any magical creature.”

“Pandora - as in the myth?” Emma asked. Considering recent revelations, Rumplestiltskin suspected she would interrogate him at length about it some time in the near future.

“Yes, although it doesn’t function quite how the myth version does; it’s more akin to a magical prison.”

“Like the trap in Ghostbusters?” Emma asked dryly. Regina rolled her eyes.

“I have never actually seen that film. But it will work, if we can lure the Shadow close enough.”

“Will the fire work for that?” David asked, “You said it was attracted to your fire circle.”

“It might. Or it might be forewarned of me now.”

“What about my Mom?” Henry asked. “She can make fire.”

Rumplestiltskin looked at Regina. There was little he could trust her with, but he did trust that she would do her utmost to protect Henry. If she could be convinced that this plan was in Henry’s best interest, she would see it done.

Emma was not so convinced. “Does it need to be magical fire? Can’t we just light a Bic or something?”

“It doesn’t have to be magical,” Bae said. “But I don’t think a lighter would do it.”

“A bonfire on the beach, then?”

“That might work,” Bae said, his expression distant. “It usually joined us when Pan made us dance.”

“Dance?” Emma asked, concerned.

Bae glanced at her. “Around the bonfire. Every night. Pan insisted.” The room went quiet. “If you have a set of pipes, Papa, that might help,” Bae said, eyes on his coffee.

“I don’t,” Rumplestiltskin said, “Not like his.”

“Wouldn’t it know it wasn’t really Pan anyway?” the puppet asked.

“Yeah. It was just an idea,” Bae said, shrugging.

“Well, if it’s just the music you want, that won’t be a problem,” the puppet said, pulling out his phone. “What kind of pipes are they?”

“Pan pipes,” Rumplestiltskin said dryly.

“Oh, duh. Hold on.” The puppet set down his coffee and started pulling something up on his phone.

“Are you going to YouTube?” Emma asked archly.

“I was thinking Pandora.”

“You’re intending to lure an ancient evil with your cellphone?” Regina scoffed.

The puppet shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt. Unless electronics repel it or something; do they?” he asked Bae.

Bae shook his head. “I don’t think so. It might work. But we need dancers. No adults.” He made eye contact with Rumplestiltskin.

“Absolutely not,” he said immediately.

At the same moment, Emma and Regina looked at Henry and collectively said, “No.”

“We can’t use children for this,” Mary Margaret said, “We’ll think of another way.”

“Technically speaking, I’m much older than you,” Bae told her.

“Absolutely not,” Rumplestiltskin reiterated. 

“It has to be done, Papa; you know it does.”

“Not by _you_.”

“Who else, then? Who knows it like I do?”

“And who’s going to dance this little dance with you?” Regina said, “Because it will be Henry over my dead body.”

“Mom-”

“Jones,” Rumplestiltskin said. 

Everyone stared at him. “What?” Emma asked.

“Jones knows the Shadow. Smee too. With the correct potion, I can make them boys again. I can even make it temporary,” he said with a smirk.

“And why would Captain Guyliner help us?” Regina asked.

Rumplestiltskin looked at Emma. “To get out of that cell, I think he’d do a great deal. Especially if you’re the one asking, Miss Swan.”

Emma sighed, but nodded. “Gold’s right. He wants out.”

“And the second part?” Mary Margaret asked suspiciously.

Emma sighed again. “That too.”


	29. Shadow Dance

The Shadow could not find the “trigger”. There was great dark magic in the mines, but it was a creature, not a spell. The Shadow was weakening. It could not find the “trigger”. 

But it could find the Queen. 

XxXxXxX

“Well, hello, love,” Killian growled. It was less of an alluring growl and more that his voice was rough from being unexpectedly awakened before dawn, but it would do.

Emma crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, but Killian didn’t miss the tension in her shoulders. “How’d you like to get out of here?” she asked.

“Oh, I’d like that very much, but I imagine there’s a price.”

She nodded. “Pan’s Shadow is in town.”

Hook sat up. She’d asked him about the Shadow before. With Baelfire here, Hook suspected that the Shadow might come someday, but he’d been certain that the crocodile would be able to handle it. This was his turf, after all. “And?”

“Bae has an idea. He thinks if we set up a bonfire on the beach and get some lost boys to dance around it, the Shadow might show up. If it does, Gold can trap it, and we can destroy it.”

“And where do I come in?”

“We need some lost boys. Gold says he can turn you and Smee into teenagers again. You help us with this, and you’re free to go. You can even go back to the Enchanted Forest when the beans are ready.”

Killian lay back down. “Sorry, love, but I have no interest in being a boy again. You’d be too old for me, for one thing,” he said with a leer.

She rolled her eyes. “Gold can reverse it.”

“He won’t.”

“He will if it’s part of the deal. Gold doesn’t break deals; you know that.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised. And there is always something in it for him; why does he want to destroy the Shadow?”

“So it can’t take his kid. And I guess he and Pan have ‘history’,” she said with a shrug.

Killian raised an eyebrow. “What history?”

She shook her head. “No idea. Gold has history with a lot of people.”

Killian laughed. “That he does.”

“All I know is that he has his reasons for stopping the guy. So do I. And you have a reason to help us. Don’t you want to get out of here?” she taunted, “Sail the Seven Seas again?”

“What’s your reason?” he asked.

“None of your business. You in or not?”

“Whatever it is, the crocodile will betray you.”

“Oh, for God’s sake! Look, I don’t trust Gold; I’m not that stupid. But I have my reasons, and he has his. Last chance; are you in or out?”

Killian looked at the single, high window. One thing was certain; he could not get at the crocodile from in here. “I’d like a word with the crocodile about the wording of this particular ‘deal’, but if the conditions are as you say? I’m in.”

She nodded. “Good. Let me talk to Smee, and you can both talk to Gold.” 

XxXxXxX

Smee was a surprisingly easy sell. Apparently, he’d had a deal a long time ago for Gold to turn him into a teenager in exchange for a magic bean that Hook apparently stole. Emma sighed to hear of yet another event that could have prevented all this if it had gone down differently (although neither she nor Henry would likely exist at all if it had), but it was nice for something to be easy for a change. As soon as he was assured that Gold would be in charge of trapping the Shadow, Smee was eager enough to agree to the deal on the condition that he not be turned back into an adult when it was over. When she passed that info along to Gold, he’d simply shrugged, “It makes no difference to me.”

The hard part was sitting in a room with both Hook and Gold. They both looked like their fingers were itching to wrap around the other’s neck, and neither one of them seemed capable of speaking to the other without including an insult.

“So what’s your history with Pan, crocodile? Did you kill someone he loves also?”

“Pan loves no one, pirate. After so long in Neverland, I’d have expected even you to realize that.”

“Stop,” Emma said. “We don’t have time for you to bait each other. Tell Hook what you’re going to do, so we can get on with this.”

“Of course.” He turned to the pirates. “I am going to turn back the clock several hundred years, make you both fourteen or so.”

“Can you do fifteen?” Smee asked, “Fourteen was a bad year for me.”

Gold stared Smee until the heavy-set man began to crumble under the scrutiny, but then said, “Very well. I will also preserve your memories in a series of dream catchers-”

“Why?” Hook asked suspiciously.

“Because you will need them. This spell turns back time for the mind as well as the body; without preserving your memories in an outside receptacle, you will not remember your past encounters with the Shadow.”

“I didn’t agree to let you inside my head, crocodile!”

“Then you can go back to your cell. I’m sure we can find more volunteers.”

“We don’t have time,” Emma said. She looked at Hook. “I’ll be watching; if the deal is he won’t snoop or tamper with your memories, I’ll make sure he doesn’t.”

“While that’s very comforting, love-”

Emma’s cell rang; it was August. Frowning, she answered it, “Kind of busy here, August-”

“Emma,” he said, his tone serious. “The Shadow was just here. It attacked Regina.”

Emma stood up knocking her chair to the floor, “What?! Where’s Henry?”

“Here. He’s fine. It only went after Regina. It took her shadow. She’s… she’s dead.”

“That’s… no, that can’t be right.” That wasn’t how she had wanted this to go down. And now that she was listening, she could hear Henry crying. “OK, hold on. Gold and I will be there right away.”

“OK, Emma.” He hung up.

“What’s happened?” Gold asked.

Emma lowered her phone, still dazed. “The Shadow attacked Regina. She’s dead.”

“Regina?” he asked, disbelieving. “Why would the Shadow attack Regina?”

“I don’t know, Gold! Go on, I’ll meet you up there. This changes things.”

“Certainly.” He was gone in a blink, purple smoke swirling around him.

“Back in your cells, both of you.”

“But-” Smee objected.

“ _Now._ ” 

XxXxXxX

“Please,” Henry begged, “You have to be able to help her.” 

Rumplestiltskin looked at the boy. He’d seen that look a thousand times, on a thousand different faces. Used it. Caused it. He looked at Regina. It would be easy to say there was nothing he could do. Regina was dangerous, and he still owed her for Belle. This might very well be his best chance to get rid of her without breaking his deal with Bae. And she was dead; they had no reason to suspect that he could save her. 

“Papa,” Bae said quietly. Rumplestiltskin looked at him. _He knows._ The expression on his boy’s face was as easy to read as one of Belle’s books; he knew that Rumplestiltskin knew something he wasn’t telling. He was asking him to be better, better than what his curse made him.

Rumplestiltskin swallowed. “There might be a chance,” he said.

“There might?” Snow White asked. “I thought…”

“Magic cannot raise the dead, true. Usually.” He waved his hand, and wave of purple magic rippled over Regina’s body. 

“What did you do?” Henry asked.

“A preservation spell. I could be wrong, but we if we can restore Regina’s shadow to her body, she might awaken. But for it to work, her body must be preserved.”

“How do we get her shadow back?” Henry asked.

“We destroy the being that took it.”

“You think that would work?” David asked.

“It’s the only chance she has. With the barriers still in place, Pan cannot take possession of her shadow. And if her body is still in tact, her shadow may be able to return once Pan’s Shadow is destroyed.”

“Then that’s what we do,” Snow White said. “Regina has done terrible things, but she’s still family.”

“There is one more thing to consider,” Rumplestiltskin said. 

“What?” Henry asked.

“Why did the Shadow attack Regina specifically? It could have gone after Henry, or Bae, or anyone in the hospital, but it attacked her and no one else. Why?”

“Could it be working for someone else?” the puppet asked, “A lot of people in this town have a grudge against Regina.”

“It only answers to Pan,” Bae said.

“Pan’s not here,” Rumplestiltskin pointed out. “And if it has been here as long as we think it has, it must be desperate to return to him.”

“Could it have made a deal with someone? Take out Regina in exchange for getting out of Storybrooke?” the puppet asked.

“Possibly.”

“You think it might be the strangers?” Belle asked.

“We can’t discount it,” Rumplestiltskin said. The puppet cursed in an Asian language.

“We’ll investigate that later,” Snow White said. “Do you still think our plan to capture the Shadow might work?”

“I do.”

“Then we need to go ahead. It will be light soon.”

“Very well.” Snow White called her daughter while Rumplestiltskin gathered his dream catchers and Pandora’s Box. Bae, Belle, and Charming followed him has he hurried to meet Emma below the hospital, something he did not find suspicious until Hook asked, “And will we be joined by any other ‘volunteers’?”

“Me,” Bae said.

Rumplestiltskin immediately stopped what he was doing. “No.”

“Yes,” Bae said, his arms crossed defiantly.

“No. If you insist, I simply will not continue.”

“Papa-”

“No minors,” Charming said, “We agreed. I’m your third Lost Boy, and August is the forth, if you need it.”

“You’re not a Lost Boy,” Bae told Charming.

“You didn’t know me when I was fourteen.”

While Charming had a point - he’d lost his father and been under the thumb of Bo Peep by then - he’d never been truly lost. But the puppet had. “You’ll do, but call Booth; I’d rather the pirates not outnumber you.”

Charming nodded and pulled out his phone. Rumplestiltskin turned back to his dream catchers, grinning at Jones menacingly. “Now, Captain, hold still…”

XxXxXxX 

_I have taken the Queen’s shadow._

“She’s dead?”

_Her heart beats no more._

“Good. Did you get the trigger?”

_There was no trigger._

“You said there was magic in the mines!”

_Not a trigger. A soul - an angry soul._

“It’s no deal without the trigger!”

“It didn’t get it?”

“No. It said there was no trigger.”

“Shit. What do we do?”

“Find us a way to destroy this town! There is no deal without that!”

_There is other magic. Great magic._

“Then find it. We’ll take you to Neverland when Storybrooke is in ashes.”

XxXxXxX 

August didn’t know where he was. “Who are you?” he asked the man in the suit, trying to jump off the table he was apparently sitting on. But the man had a firm grip on his shoulder, and he held him in place way too easily for someone of his size.

“You’ll know in a moment,” the man said, in a distinct Scottish accent, “Look into this.”

“A dream catcher? What the hell is the place?”

“It’s magic.” August froze. “Look.”

“Magic?” It had been years since August had mentioned that word to anyone. He didn’t like thinking about magic. He didn’t like thinking about Emma. _Where is she now? Is she safe?_

“Yes, magic. Magic that will help you help Emma.”

August gasped. “You know Emma? Where is she?”

The man smiled. “I do. The dream catcher will tell you where she is.”

August had learned a long time ago that it was really, really stupid to listen to a promise like that. He did it anyway. 

“Oh, God.” He reeled, everything hitting him all at once. “That was embarrassing.” The higher pitch of his voice wasn’t helping.

“It’s fine,” Emma said. He looked up; she was smirking at him. “The real question is; when did you start dying your hair?”

“What?” He pulled a lock in front of his eyes. It was auburn. _Oh, right._ “It’s not dye. My hair stared turning from red to black when I was twelve. My eyes are probably darker too.”

Emma leaned in. “They are! What the hell?”

“It isn’t actually unheard of. Something to do with genetics; I don’t know. Now, what’s the plan?” He was the last of their ‘lost boys’ to be transformed, and they didn’t have a lot of time. He hopped off the table and asked, “Are we ready to go?” It wasn’t that he was eager to face the Shadow (he most certainly wasn’t), but August was a master at hiding. If he couldn’t run from this, he could at least hide how scared he was.

“Almost. Belle, Bae, will you stay with Henry?” Gold asked. _Clever - give them something to do other than mope about not being included._ August rather wished Henry-sitting was still his job, but he supposed it was only fair that it should be someone else’s turn to be out of the line of fire. 

From the look on his face, August knew Bae saw right through his father’s machinations. Nevertheless, he agreed, “Fine, although if the Shadow shows up, a weapon would be nice.”

“Good idea,” David said. Even as a teenager, he was statuesque; it was ridiculous. 

Gold narrowed his eyes, but snapped his fingers, producing a longbow and a quiver of golden arrows, which he handed off to Bae. 

“We should hurry,” Mary Margaret said, “It will be dawn soon.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded, “Yes.”

“Be careful,” Belle called.

Gold smiled, “Of course, sweetheart.”

And then there was nothing but smoke, followed by the sound of waves on the beach.

_Emma was right; it is like a roller coaster._ August reeled, and tried not to be sick. Emma herself clutched her head. “Still not used to that, Gold.”

“All right there, love?” Hook asked (although the name didn’t really fit anymore, as his younger self had two good hands). 

“Fine,” Emma groused. “Now, let’s get this fire built.”

“No time,” Gold said, conjuring a well-built bonfire. Another snap of his fingers, and it ignited. The sky had that barely gray quality that said dawn was not far off. August took out his phone.

“What’s that?” Hook asked.

“Mood music,” August replied. “And that mood is: creepy.” He pulled up the playlist he had saved. Smee and Hook jumped.

“Relax,” David said, “It’s just music.”

“Two hundred years in Neverland, those pipes will never be just music to you, mate,” Hook snapped.

Emma looked at Gold. “We’re ready to go; where’s the box?”

“Here.” It appeared in his hand, and he beckoned David over, showing him how to operate it. “Get as close to the Shadow as you can. Once it’s trapped, throw the box into the fire. I’ll be watching, and can take over then.”

“What about Emma and Mary Margaret?” August asked.

“They’ll be with me. Pan has no use for girls, and especially not women.”

“Right.” There was a reason August had been de-aged a bit more than the others. Apparently, Neverland’s ‘only children’ rule really meant ‘only virgins’. Having to tell Rumplestiltskin that he’d lost his virginity at thirteen had really not been on August’s list top ten things to do today.

Volume set to maximum, August put his phone in his pocket. “Now what?”

“Now you dance. We’ll be watching.” And Gold and the ladies disappeared.

David, the ever-responsible one, started shuffling awkwardly around in the sand. Smee followed suit. August closed his eyes and tried to get a feel for the music. “You know, this would be a lot more fun with a stash of rum. And Kiera Knightly.” David chuckled. 

“No arguments here, mate,” Hook said as he started to move. “Everything is better with rum.”

August forced a laugh and tossed his hands in the air. He’d spent enough of his life drunk that pretending to be was hardly difficult. 

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me…_

XxXxXxX 

“Anything else from the Home Office?” Greg asked.

“No,” Tamara said, “Just to get the shadow to Neverland. This whole thing feels wrong, Greg. That thing - how can it be working for the Home Office?”

“Believe me, I know. There’s nothing good about this situation. Except maybe a chance to get something even bigger than Storybrooke.”

Tamara smiled. “You think? Destroy Neverland?”

“Yeah. I mean, what if it’s the source? Of all of this? If you believe the book, they visit our world a lot. What if they’re the ones who brought magic here in the first place?”

“Hm. It’s an idea.”

“It’s the only one I’ve got.”

“Yeah. Greg!” Tamara pointed as the Shadow swopped down on them.

_I have found the magic you seek._

“Where is it?” Greg demanded.

_Behind a barrier._

Greg laughed darkly. “Of course it is! You know the deal; no weapon, no Neverland.”

_The barrier can be crossed._

“How?”

_Come._

“Oh, no, tell us where you are taking us.”

_To the vault. The Queen’s vault._

“Well, that sounds promising. How do we get past the barrier?”

_Her shadow can cross._

“The shadow you took? It’s still around?”

_Yes._

“OK then, let’s go.” He turned to Tamara. “It says it knows where the Queen’s vault is, and her shadow can get us in.”

“Her vault? It could be the jackpot. Or a trap.”

“I know.”

She gave him a hard stare. “Let’s go.”

As they followed the Shadow, the sky began to lighten. Greg and Tamara exchanged looks, but pressed on; there was no way out of this now except to hope that the Shadow could deliver. 

It stopped on the edge of a field. “Where’s the vault?” Greg asked.

_The beans are here. Take some._

“I don’t see anything.”

_They are here._

The Shadow floated into the field, then vanished. “Woah!” Tamara said, “Where did it go?”

“It said the beans are here.” The Shadow’s disembodied hand appeared, beckoning them forward.

Tamara looked at him. “We probably should grab some now, before it gets completely light.”

“Yes.”

Refusing to hesitate, Greg charged through the curtain of invisibility. “Woah.”

The entire field was filled with beans. Tamara immediately started examining the plants. “How do we know if they are… ripe?”

The shadow pointed at a bean, large and clear. _This will take us to Neverland._

“The big, clear ones,” Greg said, “Got it.” He took two, then pulled out a lighter. “Will these plants burn?” he asked the shadow.

_Yes._

“Yes,” Tamara said. “These would let them back into our world, won’t they?”

_Yes._

“Then we burn them down,” Greg said.

XxXxXxX 

“How long are we supposed to do this?” Smee asked, panting. They’d pretty much given up on dancing at this point and were essentially running laps around the bonfire, throwing in the occasional kick or spin. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon; soon, the townsfolk would be up and about, and Emma had said that Bae had said that the Shadow avoided adults. Something that was probably true, considering that it had apparently been here almost a month before anyone had spotted it.

“Until Gold says to stop,” David said, spinning around as if to make his point.

“And if the crocodile wants us to dance until we drop?” Hook sneered.

“Then we do it. That’s hardly a high price to pay for your freedom, is it?” David said snidely. August hadn’t known David could do snide.

“I don’t like leaving him alone with the ladies,” Hook said.

_Really?_ August didn’t like the vibe Hook had around Emma. He didn’t like Hook period, and not just because he had almost killed him (although that was a big part, and August was being very careful to keep both Smee and David in between himself and Hook). The way he talked about Emma and had tried to use Belle just screamed ‘medieval’; August wasn’t sure that Hook understood that women were people, not property.

“I trust him more than I trust you,” David said.

Hook shook his head. “Madness. The Dark One will destroy you all; I hope you realize that.”

_Yeah, yeah, Regina’s been singing that tune for months, pal. He’s not the one who tried to kill me. Or stole Jiminy’s heart. Or tortured him, asshole._ Hoping to avoid a fight, August changed the subject. “Do we have a plan B if this doesn’t work?”

In the end, it was Mary Margaret who had come up with one. While the ‘lost boys’ had been dancing around the fire, she had called Ruby, and the two of them had set out to track the strangers. Ruby’s nose had led them all the way to the bean field, only to find it in ashes. Emma delivered the news grimly. “So what do we do?” August asked. It was fully light by now. The Shadow wasn’t coming, and the smoke from the burning bean field had been so strong that Ruby had lost the strangers’ trail.

“Can you try that tear thing, Gold?” Emma asked.

“I don’t possess any tears that belong to either of them, so no.”

“Damn it!”

“Wait, you were hoarding Regina’s tears?” August asked. Everyone looked at him. “Uh… sorry, never mind. It’s early.”

“I’m sure the crocodile hoards stranger things than that,” Hook said, his arms crossed. He was ignored. 

“Any other ideas?” Emma asked Gold.

“Wait for sundown and try again.”

“And just hope the Shadow doesn’t go after anyone else? And the strangers don’t burn something else down in the meantime?”

“Wait,” David said, “What if that’s the answer? They’re here to destroy magic, right? They destroyed the beans; what other targets might they go after?”

“That was the reasoning behind putting our people in the mines, around the trigger, but they didn’t go after it,” Emma said.

“Because they knew we had Regina, and they probably guessed that she told us about it.”

“Or the beans were the distraction before going after the trigger,” August suggested.

“Or the means to ensure that no-one could escape once they had it,” Gold pointed out.

“All right,” Emma said, “It’s the only lead we’ve got. Other than the trigger, what else might they go after?”

“My home, my shop, Regina’s home, her vault, and, if they happen to learn about your abilities, the loft,” Gold said.

“And the convent,” David said.

“Nova’s place,” August added. “And the diamond veins in the mines.”

“Too many to cover,” Emma said. “But the shop, Regina’s vault, and the convent seem like the big three.”

“Let the fairies worry for the convent,” Gold scoffed. August didn’t disagree.

“No,” David said, “They’re all magical. We should at least send some non-magical people to help.”

“Thank you for volunteering,” Gold mocked.

David rolled his eyes, but Emma agreed, “You actually are probably he best choice. Ruby can go with you. Gold will take his shop, of course.” Gold nodded in agreement, “Which leaves me and Mary Margaret for the vault.”

“Is two enough people for the vault?” August asked.

“You can take Dove,” Gold said, “I’d prefer Bae and Belle were with me.”

“What about Henry?” Emma asked.

“I can do it,” August said.

“OK.”

“Hold on, then.” It was all the warning August got before Gold teleported them both back to the hospital.

“Ugh,” August said, staggering into the wall, “Could you warn me before you do that again? Also, I might have a better chance against the strangers if I were bigger. I’m younger than your kid, right now.”

“Technically, you’re always younger than ‘my kid’. Besides, this may be to your advantage; the strangers won’t know you.”

August sighed. “Right.” It had occurred to him that he might be responsible for all of this. If the woman had figured out who he was back in Hong Kong (the Dragon had known, and she could have gotten the information from him), she might have tracked him back to Storybrooke. _But then why did they wait so long to show up?_

_It doesn’t matter; we just have to get through this._

Belle was the first to notice them approaching. “Rumple! Did you catch it?” 

Gold shook his head. “I’m afraid not. And the strangers have burned the bean field.”

“What about my mom?” Henry asked.

“We’ll try again come sundown,” Gold assured him.

“And until then?” Bae asked.

“Miss Swan thinks the strangers may go after other magical targets. I’d like you to come with me to the shop; if they appear, we can catch them.”

“What about Henry?” Belle asked.

“I don’t want to leave my mom.”

“Mr. Booth will stay with Henry.”

Bae looked at Belle then his father. “You’re going to let us fight?”

Gold sighed. “The strangers do not seem to be giving us a choice, and you’re safer with me than elsewhere.”

Bae nodded. “OK, then.”

Gold turned to August, “You can expect us back at sundown.”

“All right.” He yawned. _If I can make it to then. At least the hospital has coffee._


	30. Try Something Else

Rumple transported the three of them to his shop. “I have coffee and tea,” he offered. “Have you eaten?”

Belle nodded. “It was the only way to get Henry to have something. But tea would be lovely.”

“While you fill us in,” Bae said.

“Of course,” Rumple agreed. They adjourned to the back room. “As we attempted to lure the Shadow, Mary Margaret thought to have Miss Lucas track the strangers. She was able to follow their trail to the bean field, but it had already been destroyed. The smoke and ash, it seems, was enough to hide their scent. We don’t know where they went from there.”

“So what, we just… wait?” Bae asked.

“I’m afraid so, Bae.”

Bae huffed, sitting down on the cot. Belle knew that he was tired, and impatient, and more than a little scared, but sometimes a hunter had to wait for their prey to come to them. She could see an end to this now, and a future when Rumple could finally give up the darkness; she could wait a little longer. “I’ll make tea. Or coffee, if you’d prefer, Bae.”

He glanced up at her through his hair. “Yeah,” he said tiredly, “Thanks.”

She patted his shoulder. “It won’t be long now.”

“I hope so.”

XxXxXxX 

_This._

A second shadow, a perfect silhouette of the Queen, emerged from the vault and handed the first Shadow a small scroll. It then turned and held it out to Greg.

“This will destroy Storybrooke?”

_It has great magic._

Greg took it carefully. When nothing happened, he unrolled it. “I can’t read this.”

_It has great magic._

“Let me take a picture,” Tamara said. “Maybe the Home Office will recognize it.”

Greg glanced at the Shadow. “You had better hope they do.”

They did.

They’d retreated to the woods by the time message came in. “Are you sure about this?” Greg asked Tamara.

“That’s what they said. It’s the curse; the one that brought everyone here.”

“So what do we do with it?”

_Cast it._

“What?” 

_If you cast it, you will rule this land._

“We’re not trying to rule it, we’re trying to destroy it!”

_You will rule them all. They will live or die as you wish._

“Greg, there’re more,” Tamara said. “This is the list of ingredients.”

“A heart? A human heart? This place… it’s evil. You’re evil!” he shouted at the Shadow.

_It is the only way. The Dark One will find you. He will kill you._

“No! We asked for the trigger, not… this!”

_All magic comes at a price._

“And that’s why it has to be destroyed!”

_All things come at a price._

“Not this!”

“What is it saying, Greg?”

“It says the only way to use this to destroy the town is to cast the curse.”

“What? That wasn’t the deal!”

_It is the only way._

“No, no, screw this,” Greg said, beginning to pace.

“Greg, what do we do?”

“I don’t know!”

_Let me in. I will show you how to cast it._

“NO! Get away!” Greg pulled out the neutralizer, and brandished it at the Shadow. “Go away, you monster!”

“Greg, calm down!”

“No! We didn’t come this far to fail!”

“Greg-”

“Wait, I have an idea. Jones.”

“Jones?”

“Yes. He hunts magical people, right? That’s what the Queen said.”

_He hunts the Dark One._

“Wait, you know Jones?”

_He served my master._

“Served him doing what?”

_Whatever was required._

“Can you get him out? Bring him to us?”

“Greg, what are you doing?”

“Look, we need answers, right? Allies? We bust Jones out of prison, and he can help us.”

“Greg, you’re talking crazy-”

“I AM NOT CRAZY!”

“Greg…”

“Well, what the hell do you want to do? Just leave? Let this town infect our world with its magic? You saw what the Home Office said; they sacrifice human hearts!”

Tamara stared at him. “No. You’re right; we can’t walk away.” Her eyes flickered to the Shadow. “Can it find Jones? If we go in, they’ll catch us in a minute.”

_I can._

“Then do it.”

_I will._

XxXxXxX 

It felt good to be back on his ship again, even if the wheel didn’t feel right in his hands; they were too close to the ground. Then again, it was nice having two of them. He wondered what the crocodile would ask for letting him keep them; whatever it was, Killian would not make that deal.

“Can’t we just leave?” Smee asked.

“And go where? This isn’t our world, Smee. No, we’ll stay. Defeat the Shadow. And I will have my revenge.” _And perhaps woo the lovely Sherriff Swan._ There was something about her; Killian would not give her up without a fight.

“Any ideas how?”

“A few.” He wouldn’t say more than that; the crocodile could well be listening. But it was no idle boast; he did have a plan. According to King George, the Magic Mirror had very nearly killed the crocodile before bringing magic to this world; as Cora had said, without the magic Regina had brought to Storybrooke, the Dark One’s powers (and immortality) were dormant. Additionally, it seemed that crossing the town line also robbed anyone who had been cursed of their true memories. In a land with magic, the Dark One was indeed difficult to kill, but Killian fancied his chances with Mr. Gold much better. If he could get his hands on the dagger, he could force the crocodile across the town line and easily kill him, possibly without becoming the Dark One himself. _The worlds will be free._ It was a good plan.

Suddenly, he shivered.

_Hook._

Killian grit his teeth and drew his cutlass. “Where are you, Shadow! Show yourself!”

“Captain!” Smee called uselessly, drawing his own sword.

_I can help you._

“I don’t make deals with demons!”

_You seek vengeance._

“Against you, you bloody monster!”

_Against the Dark One._

“Smee, do you have one of those phone things?”

“Yes.”

“Then call the Sherriff; we’ll end this now.”

“Actually I might have a better idea; keep it busy, Captain.” And he ducked behind the mast.

“Smee!” Killian shouted, swiping at the Shadow with his blade, “You don’t give the orders on this ship!”

“Sorry, Captain!”

“Who are you calling?!”

There was a tingle in the air, and something went hurling at the Shadow. It was Pandora’s Box; the Shadow shrieked as it was sucked inside. “He was calling me,” the Dark One said.

“Bloody hell.”

XxXxXxX 

“Henry,” August said, grinning, “They caught it.”

Henry sat up, “They did?”

“Yeah. It went after Hook, and Gold was able to catch it in the box. Mary Margaret’s on her way. They’ll destroy it, and we’ll see-”

“Mom will be OK,” Henry said. He had to believe that. “Mr. Gold knows what he’s doing.”

August smiled. “Yeah.”

XxXxXxX 

_Could this be the end?_

For five months, Rumplestiltskin had had a singular goal: stop Pan. As he held Pandora’s Box in his hand, he marveled that the end may now be in sight.

“I’m here!” Emma called, jogging up to the group now assembled on the beach. Only Mary Margaret was missing; it was decided that she would stay with Henry and the puppet at the hospital in case Regina woke (or didn’t).

“Very well,” Rumplestiltskin said. He conjured another bonfire, placing the Box deep inside before lighting it. Once the fire was burning strong, he opened the Box. There was a brief swirl of darkness before the Shadow shrieked and was devoured. 

“Was that it?” Emma said, “It’s done?”

“Yes,” he said with a smile, extinguishing the flame and retrieving the Box.

Bae grinned. Belle threw her arms around Rumplestiltskin’s shoulders, saying, “You did it! I knew you could.”

“Well,” Jones said, “I’d say we’ve fulfilled your bargain; I’d like to be grown again, crocodile, if you don’t mind.”

“I do, actually, but a deal was struck.” Reversing the transformation was much easier than performing it in the first place, and all it took was a gesture to restore Jones, Charming, and the puppet to their correct ages. As agreed, Smee remained fifteen. Rumplestiltskin had not forgotten what the pirates had done, certainly not, (had, in fact, been hoping the Shadow might take care of Jones in particular), but a deal was a deal, and no measure of revenge was worth running Bae off again. 

Belle’s arms were still around him. _A deal is a deal._ “Kiss me,” he said.

Blue eyes met his. “Here? Now?”

“A deal was struck.”

“You don’t need your magic to track the strangers?”

His eyes flickered to Bae, “That wasn’t the arrangement.”

“What are you talking about?” the werewolf asked. Their voices had been low, but she did have wolf hearing, after all. “What’s wrong with your magic?”

“Gold?” Emma asked.

“We had a deal,” Bae explained, watching him strangely. “Once Cora and the Shadow were defeated, Papa agreed to give up his curse.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes,” he said, his eyes never leaving Belle. He needed to do this now, before he lost his resolve. 

“But… we need you,” Emma said.

“It’s not wise to rely on the Dark One, love,” Hook said.

Rumplestiltskin bristled but told Emma, “You have your own magic.” 

“That I don’t know how to use!”

“Emma-” Charming began.

“Wait,” Bae said. “Emma’s right. We didn’t know about the strangers then; we have to deal with them first.”

Rumplestiltskin stared. “Bae…”

“I’m sure we can think of something,” Belle said.

“It’s not worth the risk,” Bae insisted. “After they’re defeated, then you’ll do it.”

“If you’re sure, Bae.” It felt like a reprieve, although Rumplestiltskin knew it was dangerous to think of it that way.

Bae didn’t look sure, but nodded anyway. “I am.”

“All right,” Rumplestiltskin said, dazed. “Then I suppose it’s back to the hospital to regroup.” He took Belle’s arm in his, and began walking, glancing back towards Bae. He couldn’t quite believe what he had heard. _Bae was so sure before; what changed his mind?_

“What are you doing?” Emma asked the pirate, once she noticed him following her.

He gave her an irritatingly flirtatious smile. “Why, following you, love. If these strangers are a danger to the town, stands to reason they’re a danger to me and my newly granted freedom.”

“Go back to your ship, Hook,” Bae said, “You’re not a part of this.”

His cocky smile was threatening enough for Rumplestiltskin to stop walking. “It seems I’m as much a part of it as anyone in town-”

“I don’t trust you,” Bae said. 

“I don’t either,” Charming agreed.

“Or me,” Belle said. The wolf nodded. Rumplestiltskin smiled.

The pirate looked at the silent Emma. “Swan?”

She looked him over, and Rumplestiltskin dearly hoped that she would not fall for the pirate’s charms; he liked to think the Savior was smarter than that. “If you want to help, go back to your ship,” she finally said. “It’s magical, isn’t it?”

“Aye.”

“Then it could be a target for the strangers. Give us a call if they show up.”

He gave her an intense look, but then bowed, his hook across his chest. “As the lady wishes. Come along, Smee.”

“Aye, Captain!”

Rumplestiltskin did not miss how Bae watched them walk away.

XxXxXxX

Regina came to with a gasp. _What? What happened?_

“MOM!” She grunted as Henry tackled her, nearly squeezing the life out of her. “You’re alive!”

_Alive?_

“They did it,” an unfamiliar boy said, grinning at Snow White.

“They did.”

“Did what?” Regina asked, her arms wrapping around Henry instinctively.

“They destroyed the Shadow!” he announced. “Mr. Gold said it was the only way to save you, and they did it!”

There was a ripple of magic in the room, and the auburn-haired teenager turned into the puppet. “Woah. You know, it would be just awesome if Gold would warn people before doing magic on them,” he groused.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath,” Regina said wryly. “Did he need another lost boy?”

Booth nodded. “Yup, although it actually went after Hook in the end.”

“They’ll be here in a few minutes,” Snow announced, looking at her phone, “I’ve told them you’re awake, Regina.”

“And what about the strangers?” she asked.

“That’s the next order of business, but with the Shadow taken care of, we can focus all our resources on them; they won’t get away again.”

Two magic hunters against Regina, Rumple, Hook, and all the heroes in town? Regina smiled. _You should have stayed away, Owen._

XxXxXxX 

“What is taking so long?” Greg shouted. It was past noon at this point, and the Shadow had not returned. “Show yourself!”

“Greg, clam down!” Tamara snapped. She’d contacted the Home Office again, and they’d said to wait for the Shadow. But with the entire town hunting them, there was only so long they could stay in the same place.

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” he snarled.

“Look, we need to start thinking of an exit plan-”

“NO! We are not giving up! Not after we’ve come this far!”

“Greg, baby-”

“NO!”

“You know what? Fine. Wait here. I’ll go back to town; see if I can’t figure out a way out of this mess. Call me if it comes back.”

“You’re leaving?” Greg demanded.

“I’m trying to save us both! And the mission! The Shadow cannot be trusted, Greg, it’s everything we’ve been trying to fight all these years!” 

“Fine,” he said. “Go.”

She did.

XxXxXxX

This was stupid. Tamara should just leave. She knew how to disappear; even the Home Office wouldn’t know where to find her.

But she’d already sunk so much into this, and Greg was right; this place dwarfed anything they had every heard of in terms of magic. If they didn’t take it out, who was to say that dozens more of these towns wouldn’t start popping up all over?

And then there was Neverland. She wanted it. That was a target beyond anything she’s ever thought she’d get a chance to see, let alone destroy. She could cut magic off at the source.

As she approached the town, she veered to the north to avoid both the hospital and Main Street. Once the town was in view, she found a large oak tree and climbed up. She pulled out her binoculars and tried to get a feel for what was going on in the town. Where was the Sherriff? Where the people mourning the Queen, or celebrating her death?

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The hospital was not in an uproar, as she would have expected if the Shadow had kept its promise and liberated a prisoner. The squad car was in front of the Sherriff’s station, but neither the Sherriff nor her deputy were anywhere in sight. She expanded her search, finding no one in the cemetery near the Queen’s vault. No one was going in or out of the mines either. She couldn’t see the door of Gold’s pawn shop from her position, so she couldn’t tell if they were open or not. 

She didn’t trust the shadow that Gold was alive (the neutralizer hadn’t let them down yet), but they had to be sure. If their intelligence was correct, he was the most powerful magic user in town, even more than the Queen; they didn’t have a chance if they didn’t take him down.

She looked further from the town center, her gaze landing on the docks. She took a close look at the ship, the rigging one they’d noticed before. A ship like that wasn’t necessarily magical, but it was out of place enough that it could be. She zoomed in when she spotted two people on the deck. _That’s a first._

They were dressed like pirates. Pirates. The taller one was pacing, gesturing widely with his hands… no, hand. His left hand ended in a hook. _Hook. Could it be? Captain Hook?_

If this was Peter Pan’s shadow they were dealing with, why wouldn’t Captain Hook be around somewhere? _But where’s he been until now?_ Then, she thought of Jones. _Could Jones be Hook?_ The Queen had said he was hundreds of years old, and the Shadow had said that he served Peter Pan. She texted the Home Office with her theory.

_“Shadow offered alliance with Killian Jones - advisable? Jones may be AKA Hook - verify?”_

The response was almost immediate.

_“Yes. Yes.”_

_OK, then._ The Shadow was nowhere in sight; it had obviously betrayed them. She called Greg.

“I’ve found Jones.”

“What? Where?”

“He also goes by Hook, as in Captain Hook. I verified it with the Home Office. That fancy ship in the harbor? It belongs to him, and it seems he got out somehow, because that’s where he is. The Shadow betrayed us, Greg.”

“You don’t know that. How did Jones get out, if it wasn’t the Shadow?”

“No idea; I’ll ask him.”

“What?”

“We’re on borrowed time, Greg; if Jones is our best shot, then we’ve got the take it now. The Home Office approved it.”

Greg huffed into the phone. “Can you at least wait for me?”

She looked out towards the town again. No one seemed in a hurry; it didn’t look like they’d started a manhunt. “I’m on the Northeastern edge of the woods, about a mile from the wishing well. You’ve got thirty minutes.” She hung up.

He made it in twenty.

“Let me see,” he said, climbing up to join her.

She handed him the binoculars. “He’s at the wheel. Looks like he’s got a cabin boy, too; the kid in the red hat.”

“Any other crew?”

“Not that I can see.”

“Hm.”

“The question is,” Tamara said, as Greg watched the ship, “How do we get him to help us?”

Greg lowered the binoculars. “The same way we got the Queen; we don’t give him a choice.”

XxXxXxX

Bae had been distant all day, almost angry, and Rumplestiltskin didn’t know what to do about it. There had been no sign of the strangers, and, by the time evening fell, Rumplestiltskin was anxious to get home. He placed additional enchantments around the shop to signal them if the strangers came around and alerted Emma that they were leaving.

Bae didn’t say a word during the walk back. His entire posture was stiff. “What would you like for dinner?” Rumplestiltskin asked as he unlocked the front door. Bae just shrugged. 

Belle frowned, “Are you all right?” she asked. She hadn’t missed Bae’s strange behavior either. 

“Fine,” Bae said tonelessly. “Tired.”

“Of course,” she said, but she knew it was a lie as much as Rumplestiltskin did.

“Bae, please, if something is wrong, I need you to tell me.”

Bae stared at the polished hardwood floor. “It’s never going to end,” he finally said.

“What do you mean?” Rumplestiltskin asked, taking a concerned step forward.

“You’ll never be able to give up your power.”

“Bae…” Rumplestiltskin said, hurt, “I will. I would have. You said-”

“I didn’t say you _won’t_ , I said you _can’t._ ”

“There… there are other ways. I don’t need my curse for most potions, I can stop the strangers-”

Bae shook his head. “Not the strangers. Hook. And people like him. I saw the look on his face when I said you’d agreed to give up your curse. He still wants to kill you, and if you give up your powers, he will.”

Rumplestiltskin was in awe. “That’s way you stopped me? To protect me from Jones?” 

Bae nodded. “You’re vulnerable without it. But…”

“But?”

Bae dug a hand into his hair. “I want it to end! It will never end! You’ve made too many enemies! I can’t trust you with magic, but you’ll die without it! I can’t… I can’t…” He took a step back.

Rumplestiltskin’s heart shuddered. “Bae, don’t leave! We made a deal! I’ll do it, I will!”

“You can’t!

“Wait,” Belle said, “We can find a way through this. Bae, you know I would never let anything happen to your father-”

Bae laughed. “Are you serious? You think you can fight Hook? You couldn’t last time-”

“Bae,” Rumplestiltskin said sharply.

“It’s true! You didn’t… please tell me you didn’t arrange for Emma to let him out so I would change my mind-”

“No!” In truth, it hadn’t been his wisest move, but Bae had offered himself up as bait for the Shadow; Rumplestiltskin had been scrambling for an alternative. “We’ll… we’ll banish Jones. I can have Ariel take him away somewhere…”

“He’ll find a way back; he’s as determined as you are. And what about everyone else? What about Regina?”

“We’ll… we’ll leave Storybrooke.”

“What?” Belle asked.

Rumplestiltskin bit his lip; he knew she’d made friends here, but he would not compromise Bae’s safety. Or hers. Bae was right; there would always be another Hook. “There is very little magic out there; Regina would be powerless. And Hook does not know this world.”

“Smee does.”

“I’d like to think I’m smarter than Smee,” Rumplestiltskin said dryly. He took Belle’s hand, “This world… it’s enormous. There’s so much I could show you.”

“What about the curse on the town line?” Bae asked.

“I was planning to break it anyway. I already have a temporary solution I believe might work; with time, I’m certain that I can break it completely. With the Shadow gone, we would be safe out there.” Bae looked at him. There were tears in his eyes. “Please, Bae, I can do this,” Rumplestiltskin pleaded. They couldn’t get this far just to fail; he would never survive it.

Bae swallowed, then took a hasty step forward, clinging to him tightly. “You can’t make me forgive you then leave. That’s not fair.”

“Oh, _Bae._ I won’t leave you again; I won’t.” And with the Shadow now destroyed, he could believe it.

Belle joined them, embracing them both. “We’ll get through this,” she said. “And then, we’ll have an adventure.”

Bae laughed tearfully. “No pirates,” he said.

“No pirates,” Rumplestiltskin agreed. “We can drive to Nevada; Hook wouldn’t know what to do out there.”

“Too hot,” Bae joked, pulling away.

“Montana, then. Or Canada, somewhere inland. Switzerland.”

“Austria,” Bae said, wiping his eyes.

“We have a lot of options. Please, Bae, I just need you to trust me a little while longer.”

Eyes still wet, he nodded. “OK.”

“OK?” Rumplestiltskin asked, hardly believing it.

“OK,” he repeated.

Rumplestiltskin reached out and took his hand. “Thank you, Bae.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note on CaptainSwan:
> 
> When I began this universe, I was indifferent to CaptainSwan. I planned to include it because it was important to the overall plot and seemed the natural result of a universe without Neal. However, as time has progressed, I’ve grown increasingly annoyed with the relationship. I realized that there was no way for me to write it without it becoming a snarky deconstruction, and that doesn’t seem fair to actual CaptainSwan shippers. I do still need to include certain parts for plot purposes, but I’m undecided on what to do with the rest of it, so I’m asking for my readers for their opinions on the following three options:
> 
> A) A snarky deconstruction of their courtship that matures into an actual relationship. Killian becomes a morally gray anti-hero and Emma does not allow her relationship with him to overpower her relationships with her friends and family.
> 
> B) A snarky deconstruction of their courtship that results in Emma realizing that most of her attraction to Killian is attributable two to things: she’s lonely and he’s exciting (and hot). She realizes that she’s not comfortable with who he is as a person and breaks it off. He has enough respect for her to honor her decision.
> 
> C) A snarky deconstruction of the Killian/Emma/Neal love triangle with Lily instead of Neal that results in Emma choosing Lily. Again, Killian has enough respect for her to honor her decision.


	31. Strange Bedfellows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We had a clear winner in last week’s poll. Going forward, you can expect this universe to include a snarky deconstruction of the CaptainSwan courtship but no CaptainSwan endgame. The universe notes have been updated. Thanks, everyone!

Hook woke when he heard the telltale creak of his cabin door. He’d left the door un-oiled for that very reason; he’d learned a long time ago that he was never truly safe, not even on his own ship.

He kept a dagger under his pillow for the same reason, and now he carefully slid his right hand through he bedclothes to retrieve it. Between it and his hook, he’d give these trespassers a surprise.

_And where the bloody hell is Smee?_ The man (well, closer to boy, now) was meant to be on watch. _I’ll keelhaul him._

The two invaders stopped just shy of the range of his knife - blast - and Hook heard a click. A woman said, “Wakey, wakey, Captain Hook,” and a bright light suddenly shined directly into his eyes. Snarling, he leapt out of bed, swinging for the dark shape of the woman (Killian Jones was of the opinion that there was no shame in striking at a woman who struck at you first), but she jumped out of the way. He heard a loud bang, and the unlit lantern above his bed exploded. 

“Bloody hell!” 

“Drop the knife, or the next one goes through your head.”

Hook was a proud man, but also practical enough to know when discretion was the better part of valor. He dropped the dagger. “I don’t suppose you’d like to explain what you did with Smee?” he asked conversationally, still blinking in the glaring light.

“He’s taking a little nap,” the woman said. As Hook’s eyes cleared, he was able to make out their faces. The man was pale, lean, and bald, the woman young, dark, and quite pretty.

“Ah, you’re the strangers I’ve heard so much about, aren’t you? Here for my ship? I’m afraid I’m going to have to fight you on that score.”

The man laughed. “We don’t care about your ship. We’re interested in your master.”

Hook grinned a feral grin, “No master in this ship but me, mate.”

“So if I said the name Peter Pan, that would mean nothing to you?” the woman asked.

He swallowed. “You work for Pan?”

“Maybe,” the woman said. 

“And what does his lordship require now? As I recall, he was bored of me and my crew.”

“He needs you to help us with a spell,” the man said. “And passage to Neverland.”

Hook laughed, “Well, I hope you salvaged some of those beans then, mate; my ship is a wonder, but she can’t travel without a portal.”

“We did,” he said.

“Did you now? How many?”

“None of your business.”

“I see. And what is this spell you speak of?”

“The curse that brought you here.”

“I think you’re a bit confused, mate, no curse brought me here.”

He heard another click. “Don’t lie to me! We have the scroll; we know what it says. The question is: do you want to live?”

Hook examined the weapon the man was pointing at his head; Pintel had called it a gun. It seemed that, if his lantern were any indication, it was just as deadly as his old crewmember had said. He answered carefully. “Regina’s curse, you mean? I traveled here by a different route, myself.”

“What route?” the woman asked sharply. 

“A bean. The last one, apparently, until the giant grew the crop you burned. Now, I’m not averse to a partnership when the occasion calls for it, but what exactly are you trying to accomplish? I can’t help you if I don’t know.”

The man grimaced, “Nice try, but you’re not asking the questions here.”

“Ah, you got me. No details, I know the game. But what exactly does Pan require, other than a new Shadow?” It occurred to Killian that these strangers might have been sent by Pan to exact retribution, but if the Sheriff was to be believed, they first appeared before the Shadow revealed itself, even before Cora was killed.

The two exchanged glances, and Hook suddenly liked his chances of getting out of this much better. “Or were you unaware the Shadow has been destroyed? That certainly changes things, doesn’t it?”

“It changes nothing,” the man said. _Liar._ Although, in truth, Hook would have expected a larger reaction. He didn’t know how powerful Pan was without his Shadow, but, especially away from Neverland, its loss had to have been a major blow.

“If the Shadow was destroyed, how did you get out of prison?” the woman asked shrewdly.

“The Sherriff offered me a deal.”

“What deal?”

“Let the crocodile enchant me for bit. Smee too, although he wasn’t too keen to end it. Hence why he’s a bit shorter and slimmer than you were probably led to expect.”

“The crocodile?”

“My, Pan hasn’t told you much, has he?”

“He’s told us what we need to know,” the woman said. That was definitely a lie. Hook smiled; these strangers were making it too easy.

“I don’t suppose he mentioned the Dark One’s dagger?”

“Why?’ the woman asked suspiciously.

Hook shrugged. “It would solve your problem, whatever it may be.”

The man snorted. “How do you know, if you don’t know what we need?”

“Because you said you needed help with the Queen’s curse, mate. The Dark One wrote it; he knows everything about it. And if you get the dagger, he will have to help you.”

“Why? What’s so special about the dagger?”

Hook grinned. “It controls him. Whoever holds it commands him, and all his power. Whatever you tell him to do, he must do. You could tell him to murder his lover, and he would be compelled to do it.”

“And the Dark One - that’s Gold?” the woman asked.

Hook nodded. “Aye.”

“And he’s alive?”

Hook raised an eyebrow. “He was this morning, when he destroyed the Shadow.”

The strangers exchanged glances again. “So how to we get this dagger?” the woman asked.

Hook sighed. “That is the question, isn’t it? But seeing as I have an interest in it myself, I’m inclined to help you.”

“What interest?”

“He killed my love; I want him brought low. I hear you’re out to destroy magic; you won’t have a chance if you can’t bring him to heel.”

“Where did you hear that?” the man asked.

“From the Queen. She’s allied with the heroes, told them all about you. I’d take the offer if I were you, mate.”

“And you don’t care if we destroy this town?” the woman asked. Hook shrugged. He was an expert at not caring; caring had only ever let him to trouble.

“Not particularly. Long as you give me one of those beans to retreat before you do.”

“Not a problem,” the man said, smiling cruelly, “You’re taking us to Neverland, remember?”

“Then do we have a deal?”

Again, they looked at each other. The woman nodded. “We do,” the man said.

“Excellent!”

XxXxXxX

“So you have no idea where the dagger is?” Tamara asked impatiently. They were gathered in the hold of Hook’s ship, the kid (Smee, apparently) still pretty out of it from the neutralizer.

“Don’t you think I’d have taken it already if I did?” the pirate asked flippantly.

“So how do we find it?”

“We make him tell us,” Greg said. “All we need is the cuff.”

“We don’t have the cuff! The Queen had it; who knows where it is now?”

“The cuff?” the pirate asked mildly.

“Blocks magic,” Greg explained briefly.

“Ah. So that’s how you kept the Queen under control. Well, in that case, I’m quite certain where it is. The crocodile has it.”

“Shit,” Tamara said.

“Not at all, love; I know just who can get it from him.”

“Who?”

“Why, the lovely Sherriff Swan, of course.”

XxXxXxX

After so long searching for a way to destroy the crocodile, it was delight for Hook to now have so many avenues open to him. He could betray the strangers and let them be defeated, letting the Dark One give up his powers of his own free will before killing him. There was a lovely irony in that, but Killian had doubts that the crocodile would actually follow through. He could let the strangers provide a convenient distraction while he hunted down the dagger himself, or, and this was his favorite, he could follow through with his agreement with the strangers until he had the dagger, and then kill them all in one fell swoop. He’d have his revenge and earn the good will of the Sherriff at the same time. It had seen a long time since he’d had a friendly port to fall back on; Storybrooke - and Emma - would do nicely.

He rapped his hook on the wall of the Sherriff’s Station to gain her attention. The deputy was with her, but no one else. _Perfect._ She looked up. “Oh, it’s you. I don’t suppose you’re here to tell me that you have the strangers tied up in your hold?”

“I’m afraid not, love. But I am here to offer my services.”

She narrowed her eyes, and the deputy glared. “I already told you what you can do,” she said.

Killian waved his hand dismissively. “Smee is keeping watch on the ship. He has one of those phone devices. I can be of more use here.”

She put her hands on her hips. “And you want to do this just out of the goodness of your heart?”

He shrugged. “Well, to tell you the truth, I’m a bit bored. Imprisonment does strange things to the mind.”

“There’s more,” she said flatly. “I know when you’re lying, remember?”

Hook sighed as if he only revealed this secret with great reluctance. “It seems you can. To be honest… I’d like to have some allies if the Queen or the crocodile come calling. Having them both running about with magic makes me a bit nervous.”

“Hm,” he couldn’t tell if she was buying it or not. He was telling the truth, after all, just not whole truth. “Don’t worry about Gold,” She continued, “We both know that if he’d wanted to take you out, he could have done it ages ago. As long as Bae and Belle are around, he’ll behave.” She gave him a penetrating stare. The warning was clear; any move against the boy or the doxy risked the Dark One’s wrath. Hook was already well aware of that. 

He smiled. “And the Queen?” This was Emma’s weak point. For all she still distrusted the crocodile (and Hook knew that she did), the Queen was the bigger threat to her personally and had already betrayed her more than once. She was the key to getting the cuff.

The Sherriff shifted anxiously, frowning. _Gotcha, love._ “She’s behaved so far.”

“And how long has it been?”

Emma and her deputy exchanged glances. _So not long at all, then._ “What’s your history with Regina?” the deputy asked.

Considering the Sherriff’s special power, Hook decided to stick to the truth as much as possible. “She’s a tendency to twist my arm to make me do her dirty work. The first time, it was Cora that saved me. The second, it was you. I’d rather not take my chances a third time.”

“What did she want you to do the first time?” Emma asked.

“Kill Cora. As I’m sure you can guess, it didn’t exactly go to plan. I’d just like to know she’s contained.”

“You’re not contained,” Emma countered, but Killian could tell her heart wasn’t in it.

“I don’t have magic,” Emma rolled her eyes. Killian shrugged. “I’ve raided a port or two in my time, but she’s razed entire villages. If I step out of line, you’ve near an army of people who could take me down. But her? Who here but the crocodile could do that? And would he raise a finger to unless she set her sights on Baelfire or the librarian?”

Emma chuckled. “Actually, yes. It’s the only time he gets the chance to pay her back for kidnapping Belle without pissing off his kid. You’re not the only one who plays the revenge game, Hook.”

He chuckled just as darkly. “True enough. To be more specific: would he stop her if she set her sights on me?”

“Probably not. But we would.”

“How, without the crocodile’s help?”

“We’ve got ways. Don’t worry about it.”

“What ways?”

“Not telling,” she taunted. “Look, do you actually want to help, or are you just here to waste my time?”

“No time with you is time wasted, Sherriff,” he said with a roguish smile, “But the offer was in earnest.”

The deputy gave her an exasperated look when she sighed and said, “We’re doing sweeps of the woods for the strangers in an hour, starting near the hospital. Wear hiking boots.”

He crossed his hook over his heart and bowed. “These boots have weathered the terrain of Neverland; they’ll withstand the search for these strangers.”

Emma just huffed and rolled her eyes. Hook grinned. 

XxXxXxX

There were well over two-dozen people in the crowd gathered at the hospital, and they were all avoiding the Queen. Except Emma. She wasn’t afraid, and Killian fell a little more. _I’ve got to be careful around that one._ She wasn’t quite a distraction at this point, but she could easily become one.

“So you did show up,” she said, hands on her hips.

“Aye. What’s the plan?”

“What is he doing here?” a stout man with an axe demanded. He’d been present when Cora was defeated, along with the slip of a fairy who was hanging off his arm.

“He volunteered,” Emma said.

“Why?” the man asked suspiciously. “It’s bad enough we’ve got her,” he said, jerking his head towards Regina, “We don’t need a pirate. Especially not one that tried to kill Belle.” The enchanted puppet was standing near them, watching Hook warily, but he said nothing. _Still a bit of a coward, then, eh, lad?_

“I’d apologize to the lady, but I don’t see her here,” Killian said cheekily.

Emma narrowed her eyes. “Speaking of…” she handed him a sheaf of papers. “Gold’s filed a restraining order against you. You’re not allowed within a hundred yards of him, Belle, Baelfire, his shop, his house, or the library. Don’t test me on this; we’ve got enough problems without Gold on the warpath. And you’re sticking with me today; no one else wants to deal with you.”

He looked at the papers curiously, but smiled at her last comment. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, love.”

“Stop calling me ‘love’. OK, everyone listen up!” The crowd gathered around her and she explained the sweep pattern they would be using. She made it very clear that she would be keeping an eye on Regina, and the confidence with which she said that convinced Killian that she must be carrying the cuff. He didn’t anticipate that getting it from her would be difficult; the issue was getting it from her without her noticing.

Well, she was not the first lovely woman he had relived of her purse; he and Milah had even made it into a game. But she was one of the most stubborn. He’d use the day to his advantage and charm her. A goodbye kiss would be the perfect opportunity and pleasurable besides. She might even be impressed by his cunning; Milah certainly had been.

He smiled. _Soon, Milah, we’ll have him soon._

XxXxXxX

“I can’t read this,” Henry complained. He’d only agreed to stay with Mr. Gold and Belle and Bae instead of joining the search of the woods because Mary Margaret had explained that that Belle and Mr. Gold would be researching ways to track the strangers by magic, and Henry thought that sounded awesome. But he hadn’t realized that none of the books would be in English.

“And a good thing too,” Mr. Gold said, “Some of these books are extremely dangerous if you can read what they contain.”

“And you’re letting Belle look at them?” Bae asked, disbelieving.

“Belle is used to working with enchanted books.”

“So what do you want us to do?” Henry asked. Mom might have said he was whining, but he was _not._

“Well, if you really want to help, you could sweep the floor,” Mr. Gold said, still staring at the book he was reading.

“You’re joking.”

“I am not.”

“That’s…. that’s boring.”

Bae snorted and handed Henry a broom. “Believe me, once you’ve been on a few of these ‘adventures’, you’ll wish you could go back to boring.”

“Well, what are you going to do then?” Henry asked Bae. He wasn’t a baby; people didn’t have to talk down to him all the time. Bae looked at the broom, then to his father and Belle. Without saying a word, he went into the back, and came out a minute later with a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels.

“You sweep, I clean the display cases,” he said. He went to work. Henry sighed deeply and started sweeping.

XxXxXxX

Killian was not making the headway he had hoped. The fact that the Queen constantly felt the need to interrupt his attempts to woo Emma was not helping, nor was Emma’s frustration at finding nothing of the strangers.

“I swear to God that if you don’t shut up, I am going to shove that hook down your throat,” Regina snarled at Killian.

“Knock it off, Regina,” Emma said, obviously tired of the Queen. 

“Why thank you, love.”

“You too. And for the last time, stop calling me ‘love’. For God’s sake, is it compulsive or something? Is it like Gold and that ‘dearie’ thing?”

“Of course not,” Killian objected. “‘Tis affectionate, nothing more.”

“Yeah, and how many disease-riddled barmaids have you been affectionate with, oh handless one?” Regina mocked.

Hook glared. “Now, what have I done to offend you, I wonder? I never had any quarrel with you, yet you’ve left me to rot twice, if you’ll recall, your Highness.”

“Look, stumpy-”

“Stop!” Emma commanded. It was a good look on her. “You,” she said to Regina. “You’re coming with me to see if Gold’s found anything. And you,” she turned to Hook, “Go back to your ship. I do not have the energy to deal with you right now.”

“When will you have the energy?” he asked with a rakish grin.

“When Henry’s in college,” she said flatly. Regina snorted.

“How about a farewell kiss?” he asked, taking a step towards her.

She stopped him, placing her palm on his breastbone. _Damn._ “How about ‘no’.”

“What’s going on here?” the deputy demanded from behind them.

“Hook was just leaving,” Emma said, taking a step back. “Come on, I want to see if Gold and Belle found anything.”

“I want to check on Henry,” Regina groused.

“You’re certain there’s nothing else I can do for you?” Killian asked, his expression mostly guileless and a touch seductive. It had charmed many a barmaid in its time.

“You can cut the Lothario act,” she said. “I don’t like men who aren’t straight with me.”

He smiled. “Good to know.” He bowed again, then walked away, counting on Emma to intervene if Regina launched a fireball at his back. 

He didn’t relax until he was past the hospital, then he struck a tree with his fist. “Blast!” It was infuriating to be so close to his revenge and be denied, and it was frustrating to make no headway with Emma. If she found out that he’d been harboring the strangers, she’d toss him to the crocodile in a heartbeat. Still seething, he made his way back to the ship; he only hoped Smee had not depleted the last of their rum supply with the strangers.

He straightened when he saw an old man with a full beard lurking about the Jolly’s Roger’s dock. Hook put his hand on his sword. “Ahoy,” he said in warning.

“Ahoy,” the man replied nervously. He had something bound in cloth held to his chest. He looked frightened; not the sort one usually found around the docks. “Are you Captain Hook?”

“Aye,” Killian said, “State your business.”

“I have… a business proposition.”

“For me?”

“Yes.”

“Well, my business is piracy, and there’s not a lot of that to be had in Storybrooke, mate. And I’ve a truce with the Sherriff regardless. Perhaps you’ll fare better elsewhere.”

“No, no it has to be you. You’re the only one without connections to the Dark One.”

Killian gave him an appraising look. “You have my attention. Step aboard.” He gestured with his hook. It was a threat as much as an invitation, and from the way the man stared, he understood perfectly. He scurried up the gangplank. Hook followed, intrigued.

XxXxXxX

“Please tell me you’ve got something,” Emma said.

Papa shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Without something to anchor the spell, there’s no way to track them.”

“I don’t believe you,” Regina said, from where she stood with Henry. “You’ve never not had the answer.”

Papa gave her an irritated stare. “Yes, with decades of forewarning, I can craft a solution to nearly any problem. I never received a vision indicating the need for a tracking spell without an anchor.”

Belle looked thoughtful. “What about the gauntlet you gave to Maleficent, Ursula, and Cruella? That didn’t require anything belonging to the person, did it?”

“Actually, it did; the power of the weakness itself was what drew the gauntlet. There are similar objects, ones that point home, ones that identify True Love; the feelings attached to those things are the anchor. If only one of us loved the strangers, I could craft something,” he said wryly. “But I need _something_ to work with.”

“What about… the bones of Owen- Gregs’s father?” Regina said, glancing at Henry then looking away.

Everyone stared. “And where would you get something like that, dearie?” Papa asked. “I think you’ve been holding back, Regina.”

“Why did you call him Owen?” Belle asked. “What do you know that you’re not telling?”

Henry looked up at her. “Mom?” Regina looked at him but said nothing.

“Regina, seriously, we do not have time for this; what do you know?” Emma demanded.

“OK, fine. When the curse was cast, and the town appeared, little Owen and his father just happened to be camping in the woods. Because they were inside the barrier of the town when it appeared, they could move around freely. Long story short, Owen made it out. His father didn’t.”

“No wonder he wants to destroy magic!” Belle accused. “Regina, why didn’t you tell us this earlier?”

“Because his motives don’t matter. Can you use the bones or not?” she asked Papa.

“The bones don’t _belong_ to him,” Papa said, “So no.”

“But he had very strong feelings about them. _Believe_ me.”

“They still have a greater connection to their actual owner; they’d just lead us to themselves.”

“Could the gauntlet work on someone who has died?” Belle asked. “Perhaps if you used it not on the strangers, but on the father, it would lead us to his son? But then we don’t even have it,” she sighed.

“With Ariel’s help, I could retrieve it,” Papa said, “But, unfortunately, no; it only works on the living.”

“Could you make one that works on the dead?” Emma asked.

“Given several months and access to my laboratory on the Enchanted Forest? Probably.”

“That long? You re-wrote a branch of magic in two days.”

“Using True Love; the magic I have studied for centuries. I didn’t create the original gauntlet, nor did I spend any time examining the spell work.”

Regina shook her head. “You’re just full of excuses, aren’t you?”

“I don’t recall your efforts being any more successful.”

“OK, stop,” Emma said. “Look, there’s only so far they could have gone-”

“If they’re still in Storybrooke,” Papa pointed out.

“They are,” Regina said. “They’re not leaving until they get what they want.”

“You,” David said. Regina glared, but nodded. 

“And to destroy the town.”

“We could lure them out,” Bae said suddenly.

They all looked at him. “What are you thinking, kid?” Emma asked.

“You said they wanted the trigger; we can lure them with it.”

“Except they know where it’s supposed to be, and they haven’t shown up there yet,” Regina said.

“You also told them it was guarded,” Belle said. “They burned the bean field and then nothing; perhaps that is their next target, but they need a way past Maleficent first.”

“So what do you want me to do? Evict her?” Regina asked.

“No. We spread the word that the trigger has been moved to a ‘safer’ location; one more accessible to them,” Papa said.

“Spread the word how? Take out an ad in the Mirror? Although they might actually be that dumb…” Regina mused.

“They’re gathering information from somewhere; otherwise, they never would have known how to find your cell in the mines. If it becomes common knowledge, it will find its was back to them.”

“It’s a plan,” Mary Margaret said.

“The only one we’ve got,” David agreed.

Emma nodded, and, resentfully, so did Regina.

“So, what’s the location?” Emma asked.

“Well, there are several options…”

XxXxXxX

“Why sell this to me?” Hook asked the old man. If the gauntlet did what he said it did, he could have the Dark One’s dagger by sunrise. While tempting, it seemed a bit too perfect.

“Because the Dark One cannot find me with it, and he _cannot_ get it back. Everyone else in town has done business with him; you’re the only one I can trust not to sell it back to him.”

“And how do you know that?” Hook had never boasted about his feud with the Dark One. It was personal, and it would have been unwise to advertise his intent regardless.

“Because you attacked his woman; everyone in town knows that. And they know why; he killed your love.”

“And how do they know that?” The girl didn’t strike him as the type to tell tales.

“The writer, the one who works at the library, he likes to go to the Rabbit Hole.” The man smiled and shrugged, “He talks.”

“That’s true, Captain,” Smee said, “He does.”

“Hm… I don’t suppose you’d be averse to a little demonstration; just to prove it does what you claim?”

The old man shook his head. “I have told you the truth; I have nothing to hide.”

“All right then, put it on. Show us Smee’s greatest weakness.” Smee was an uncomplicated fellow; there was nothing he valued more than his own life. 

“Mine?” Smee asked.

“Well, you don’t think I’d reveal mine, did you?” Smee sighed.

The man stood up, jamming the gauntlet onto his right hand. It began to glow. He walked in a circle, and the light faded then returned. Finding the direction that made it glow the brightest, and man walked half a dozen steps to tap Smee in the middle of his now narrower chest. He smiled knowingly. “It seems, Mr. Smee, that your greatest weakness is yourself.”

Hook nodded. “Very good. I’m interested. The question now is: what do you want for it?”

“Only your assurance that it will not be returned to the Dark One. And, if he should discover that you have it, you do not reveal that it came from me.”

“So… your life, then? That’s a fair price,” he said, smirking at Smee. Smee shrugged. 

The old man nodded. “I have your word of honor that the Dark One will never learn that I had this?”

Hook laughed. “You do.” It wasn’t as if the crocodile had long to live now, anyway.


	32. Betrayal

“Did you get it?” Tamara asked as soon as the she and Greg were aboard Hook’s ship.

“No.” 

“What-”

“I got something better,” he said with an irritating smirk.

Greg growled. He was not in the mood to play games. “What did you get?” he demanded.

“This.” He showed them a golden gauntlet. “It will lead us to the Dark One’s greatest weakness.”

“How?” Tamara asked.

He looked at her like she was stupid. “It’s magic, love.”

Greg growled again. “Don’t call her ‘love’.”

Hook gave him a mocking stare, then laughed. “Sorry mate; didn’t realize she was yours. Not that that’s stopped me much in the past.”

“Oh, please,” Tamara scoffed. “Let’s just get going.” 

Greg gave Hook another glare, but agreed. “Yes.”

The pirate shrugged, and put on the gauntlet, yanking it into place with his hook. It began to glow. “Aren’t we worried that people might notice that?” Tamara asked.

“A good point,” Hook said. “Smee, give me your hat.”

“My hat?” the boy asked, clutching it to him defensively. 

Hook rolled his eyes. “Yes, Smee, your hat. That’s an order, mate.”

“I’ll get it back right?”

“Not if you don’t bloody well give it to me right now.”

He bit his lip and handed it over. “Please be careful with it.”

“Like a porcelain doll,” Hook deadpanned. He pulled the hat over the gauntlet, cutting down on most of the glow. “And we’re off.”

It was a good thing Tamara had spoken up; the gauntlet led them into the heart of downtown. Most people were in bed by now, but they still passed by the occasional lit window, and at one point, they had to duck into an alley to avoid a trio of drunks who apparently hadn’t gotten the memo that the bar had closed an hour ago.

The light began to fade as they passed the library, and Hook walked in a careful circle, eventually pointing up, to the clock tower. “Well, the crocodile did always have a flair for the dramatic.”

“How do we get up there?” Tamara asked.

“Through the library. Keep quiet, though; the fallen fairy lives here. Wouldn’t want to wake her up.”

“You don’t mean… Maleficent, do you?” Greg asked.

Hook laughed. “That one too, as I understand it.”

Hook broke in easily through the front door with, well, his hook. “It must be back here.” He led them to a hallway to the left of the circulation desk, handing Smee his hat back along the way, but his theory proved incorrect. The three doors they found there led to a small powder room, a stairwell that clearly led to the apartment upstairs, and a large office, which apparently contained the rare books. “Blast,” he hissed, “There must be a way up there!”

“Spread out,” Greg said. Smee and Tamara nodded.

Hook circled slowly in the middle of the room, the glow of the gauntlet flaring slightly as it pointed to a wall covered with a large map of Storybrooke. He examined it. “I think this is a false wall.”

“Look for a mechanism,” Tamara said, glancing around. Hook instead waved his hand over the map, using the glow of gauntlet to guide him. He smiled when he held his hand to a certain spot, and the wall rose into the ceiling. There was an antique elevator behind it.

Hook seemed confused, but Tamara quickly pulled the doors open and asked, “Going up?”

It took them to an unfinished stairwell, dimly illuminated by the moonlight shining through the glass of the clock face. Halfway up the iron stairs, Hook grinned as the light of the gauntlet glinted off a strange knife hidden behind the minute hand. “Oh clever, crocodile, very clever.”

Greg smiled and drew his gun. “Stop right there, captain.”

Hook stopped, looking back at him. He sighed and rolled his eyes. “No honor amongst your order, then?” 

“Oh, please; you’re a pirate,” Greg replied.

“We have a code,” he protested.

“But let me guess, it’s really more of a guideline, isn’t it?” Greg mocked. Tamara laughed, holding the neutralizer to a frightened Smee. “Come back down the stairs if you want to live. Slowly. Hand in the air. The hook too.”

Hook sighed again, but did as he was told, his boots banging loudly on the stairs. “Quietly,” Greg hissed. Hook rolled his eyes again, but took the last two steps with less noise. It was a close space. Which had apparently been Hook’s plan, as he immediately swung his hook at Greg’s face.

BANG!

Hook dropped, gasping. “I’ll get the dagger!” Greg shouted. The tenant (fairy?) must have heard the gunshot; they had to get out of here quickly. Greg jumped over Hook’s body and bolted up the stairs.

“I got this one!” Tamara said, taking Smee out with the neutralizer.

Greg smashed the glass pane with his elbow and grabbed the dagger. Nothing happened. A female voice from the other side of the wall, slightly below them, called out “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Tamara ran up the stairs. “What’s the hold up?” she demanded. “We need to get out of here!”

“I don’t know!” Greg snapped.

“Wait,” Tamara said, “There’s something written on the blade. Rum… oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Rumplestiltskin!”

Again, nothing happened. “RUMPLESTILTSKIN!” Greg shouted.

There was a swirl of poisonous, purple smoke, and Gold appeared, wearing his pajamas and looking murderous. “You rang, dearies?” he snarled.

_What have we done?_

XxXxXxX

One moment, Rumplestiltskin was soundly asleep, and the next, his entire body rang with a summons he could not ignore. He appeared in the bell tower, the strangers standing before him, Owen holding the dagger in front of him.

_No! How did this happen?_

Rumplestiltskin bared his teeth. “You rang, dearies?” He never broke eye contact, but he did not miss the comatose pirates at the foot of the stairs. _Hook!_

“Get us out of here,” Owen said, his eyes wide with desperation.

Rumplestiltskin had no choice but to obey. He took them to the site of Owen’s father’s grave (he’d dragged the location out of Regina earlier), hoping someone would think to look here, after hearing from the pirates who had the dagger. Assuming Hook and Smee were even alive. 

“What are you?” the woman asked.

“I’m the Dark One, dearie.”

“What does that even mean?” Owen asked.

They were asking questions instead of jumping right into commands. He could use that. He was bound to tell the truth to whoever held the dagger, but he was not bound to tell it concisely. “It means that I bear the curse of the Dark One. It originated a very long time ago, when-”

“Cut the story time,” Greg said, and Rumplestiltskin’s mouth clicked shut. _Damn._ “Tell us how to destroy magic.”

“Magic cannot be destroyed-”

“Liar!”

“No.”

“I command you to tell me how to destroy magic!”

Rumplestiltskin’s head started buzzing unpleasantly. Apparently, impossible commands did not agree with the dagger. “I cannot tell you how to do what cannot be done,” he snarled.

“Tell us about this,” the woman said, pulling an object from her pocket. He froze. _Regina, you fool!_ He said nothing.

“Answer her!” Owen yelled.

“That is the Dark Curse. The Blue Fairy informed me of its existence nearly three hundred-”

“Stop that! Short, simple answers from now on, and you only speak when spoken to.” _Damn him._ “Can it destroy this town?”

“It can’t.” Technicalities; Regina would thank him for his expertise with them when this was all over. _Before I kill her._

Owen narrowed his eyes. “But something can, can’t it?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

He gambled with the more obscure answer. “Regina.”

“DAMN IT!” Owen roared.

The woman looked at him accusingly. “I knew your obsession with the Queen would backfire-”

“Shut up!”

“You fed the one person we needed to a shadow monster!” _So they did send the Shadow after Regina._

But that wasn’t the issue at hand; if he could keep them focused on Regina rather than the trigger, and keep them from learning that Regina was still alive, he might be able to stop them from destroying the down. “Wait,” Owen said, “You’re supposed to be super-powerful; can you destroy the town?”

“No.”

“Shit! What about send it back to where it came from?”

“No.”

“Let me guess, Regina was the only one who could do that?” the woman asked sarcastically.

“Yes.”

“Wait, you’re not bound to her; answer me. Was Regina the only one who could send the town back to where it came from?”

“Yes,” he said firmly, and he thanked the gods that they were asking such specific questions.

“DAMMIT!”

“So we can’t destroy it,” the woman said. “Good job, Greg!”

“Shut up!”

“No! We’ve sunk too much into this, and you-”

“Make her shut up,” Owen commanded.

Rumplestiltskin gestured, sealing the woman’s voice away. She screamed soundlessly and picked up a rock. “Stop her!” He froze her in place.

“SHIT! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” Owen began to pace, the dagger already influencing his previously tenuous state of mind. Strong hearts could resist its call to misuse the power (Princess Anna had been one such), but Owen obviously did not possess a strong heart. “OK, OK, I’m going to tell him to let you go, but you need to calm down all right? I can’t think!” he yelled at the girl. She couldn’t move. “Let her go,” he said, “Just don’t let her hit me.”

He released the binding spell on her body but not her voice, then erected a barrier. She threw the rock, and Owen jumped back, but it merely bounced harmlessly away. She screamed again, soundlessly. “Let her talk,” Greg said, carefully.

He gestured again, releasing her voice. “What the hell, Greg! Give me the dagger!” She stuck out a demanding hand. Rumplestiltskin himself had never directly witnessed a scene like this, but he knew that many had played out over the centuries. They never ended well for both parties, and rarely for one.

A familiar dark glee blossomed in his heart, and he let it. _Yes, keep fighting, you fools; you have no idea what you are trifling with._

XxXxXxX

“Oh, my God!” Nova screamed as the elevator doors opened. Emma immediately crouched next to Hook and felt for a pulse. David checked Smee, and Regina looked around for whoever had done this. 

“He’s alive, but I don’t think he will be much longer. Regina, can you heal him?” Emma asked.

“No.”

“Regina!”

“You asked if I ‘can’,” she snapped back. “I can’t. Healing others is light magic; not exactly my forte.”

“Gold can do it!”

“Gold’s obsessive; he studies every branch of magic.”

“I can do it,” Nova said, clutching her wand tightly. At least, she though she could. She’d never healed anything beyond a little cut.

“Do it,” Emma said. “This is a belly wound; I don’t think he’ll make it to the hospital.”

Nova bit her lip and nodded. She knelt next to Hook and waved her wand above the wound. It was very serious; it would take a lot of fairy dust. And belief. _I can do this. I can save his life. I need to do this. We need his help. He doesn’t deserve to die._ She took out her bottle of fairy dust and sprinkled some directly on the wound. She closed her eyes and waved her wand once more. _Be healed._

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Regina said, and Nova opened her eyes. The wound was closing. She grinned.

Emma grinned. “Good job, Nova.”

“Thank you,” she said bashfully.

“I’d still call an ambulance if I were you,” Regina said.

“In a minute; we need to know what happened first. David, how is Smee?”

“Just knocked out. I think this may have been the strangers; looked like he was stunned, just like Gaston.”

“Why would the strangers be up here?” Regina asked. “How would they even know how to get up here?”

“You didn’t hide any other triggers anywhere, did you?”

“No, there is only one trigger.” She flicked some kind of spell at Smee and shouted, “Wake up!”

“Regina!”

Smee moaned and Regina hurried over, ignoring Emma. “Smee, can you hear me?” David asked, shaking his lightly. “What happened here? Was it Gold?” 

After Nova had called Emma, Emma had called Rumplestiltskin, only to learn from Belle that he had mysteriously vanished. She and Bae were now on their way, but neither of them could drive, so they would not arrive for several more minutes.

“If it were Rumple, they’d both be dead,” Regina said, crouching next to him. “Hey! Wake up!”

“What happened?” Smee mumbled.

“That’s what we need you to tell us,” Regina said impatiently.

“Can you watch him?” Emma asked Nova, nodding towards Hook. Nova nodded. Emma took off her red, leather jacket and wadded it up behind Hook’s head, then scooted over to join David and Regina next to Smee.

As Emma and Regina shouted at one-another, Hook began to stir. “Relax,” Nova said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Bloody hell,” he said, clutching at his stomach.

“Careful!”

He blinked up at her. “The fairy.” He looked over at Emma. “Bloody hell,” he said again.

“The strangers!” Smee said trying to sit up.

“What about them?” Emma asked.

“They forced us to help them retrieve the Dark One’s dagger,” Hook said.

Emma looked back at him. “Are you serious?”

“As serious as this hole in me, love. Let me up,” he said to Nova. She helped him sit up.

“You’re telling us that you let the strangers get a hold of the dagger?” Regina demanded.

“To be fair, that wasn’t my plan; I thought I could get it myself, take care of them for good.”

“Oh, bull. You wanted the dagger to go after Rumple. You probably used them to get here!”

“What good do you think they did me? They’re lunatics; I thought my best chance to stop them was with the dagger.”

“Why didn’t you just summon Gold yourself?”

“You really think he’d honor a summons from me?”

“What were you going to do when you got it?” Emma asked quietly.

“Have him destroy them,” he said.

“Well, at least that’s the truth,” Emma muttered to David.

Hook froze. Regina smiled cruelly. “Oh, yes, forgot the Savior’s little superpower, didn’t you?”

“Your plan was to force Gold to kill the strangers and then use the dagger to kill him, wasn’t it?” Emma asked.

“And why not?” Hook asked defensively, “I’d have eliminated two problems in one go-”

“And taken on his power for yourself,” Emma accused.

“No! I was going to take him across the town line; destroy the Dark One for good. How can you say I wouldn’t be doing the worlds a favor?”

“He’s got a point,” Regina said.

“No, he doesn’t,” Nova objected. She couldn’t exactly say that Rumplestiltskin was her friend, but Bae and Belle certainly were, and they loved him. “Killing is wrong. And Belle is going to break his curse soon, anyway. That is how to destroy the curse of the Dark One: with love.”

Hook shook his head. “You’re daft if you think he’ll go through with it. Even if he does have a enough of a heart for it to work, which he doesn’t.”

Emma snorted. “Not true, actually. And even if he didn’t, that doesn’t give you the right to kill him. This was about your revenge; don’t pretend you give a damn about what it means for the rest of us.”

“And,” Regina said, “Since you are so keen on revenge, how about telling us where the strangers went? They did shoot you, after all.”

“Haven’t a clue, love.”

Regina looked at Emma. “He’s telling the truth,” the blonde woman said.

“Then he’s useless to us.”

“We don’t need him,” David said. “If they’ve go Gold with them, then we can do a tracking spell. We have personal items of his.”

“You want to confront the strangers armed with the power of the Dark One?” Regina scoffed, tossing up her hands. “Wait, of course you do; why would I think otherwise?”

“But remember, Gold doesn’t want to be there,” Emma said. “He’s on our side.”

“Do you really not understand how the dagger works? It doesn’t matter what Rumple wants; they could order him to crush his son’s heart, and he would do it. You saw what my mother was able to do with it!”

“Well, don’t take this as a ringing endorsement, but if what you’ve told us is right, I don’t think the strangers are as smart as your mother. They certainly don’t understand magic like she did. If they give Gold any room to speak at all, he could keep them running in circles for days. Enough time for us to get the dagger back.”

“You’re banking your plan on Rumple helping us rescue him?”

“Not us - Bae and Belle. Besides, do you have any better ideas?”

Regina glared at her, but eventually said, “No, I don’t.”

“Then I’ll call Belle; she can grab something of his from the shop.”

“Can… I go to the hospital now?” Smee asked.

XxXxXxX

“Look!” Owen shouted, “We’re running out of time here, OK?”

“And who’s fault is that?” the woman (Owen had identified her as Tamara) shouted back. Rumplestiltskin watched it all impassively. Other then to order him to ‘put some clothes on’ (which he’d gladly done), Owen almost seemed to have forgotten about him. _Good._

“You could have left!”

“And explained to the Home Office that I abandoned the mission? Are you insane? Wait, I think I know the answer to that!”

“Shut up!”

She did, staring at Rumplestiltskin in fear-tinged rage. She was not forgetting that if she defied her partner, he could make her hold her tongue. _Literally._ I was hard not to smile.

“OK,” Owen turned back to Rumplestiltskin. “The Shadow said that with this curse, we would rule this land; is that right?”

 _Damn._ “Whichever of you casts it, yes.”

“It also said that he people would ‘live or die’ as we wished. That right?”

“Yes.”

“And we have to sacrifice the heart of the person we love most in order to cast it?”

“If the thing you love most is a person, yes.”

“Can I order you to cast it according to my specifications?” 

Rumplestiltskin was grateful beyond measure that the answer to that was, “No.”

“Why not?” Owen demanded.

“It must be cast freely. Otherwise, it’s not a sacrifice, it’s a theft.”

“Could you kill everyone on town if I ordered you to?”

 _Technicalities._ “No.”

“Why not?”

“I cannot kill myself if I do not possess the dagger.”

“Could the curse kill you?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

 _Damn._ “If a new curse overwrote the old, the ambient magic of Storybrooke could be contained, as it was the first time. Without it, my curse is dormant and I can be killed.”

“Wait, there’s a way to contain the magic?”

“Yes.”

“How can we do that without casting the curse?”

“You can’t.” Owen said nothing, but stared at the dagger.

“Greg,” Tamara said, “You can’t possibly be considering this.” He looked at her than back to the dagger. 

_Will he do it?_ Between facing a new curse and Regina reversing the old one, Regina was the better option. But because of Owen’s earlier commend, he could not tell them that Regina was alive if they did not ask the right questions. _Damn you, you fool!_

“How much could you tell us about magic?” Owen asked, staring at the dagger. “About keeping it out of our world?”

“Much.” 

“And if I have the dagger, you have to help us, right?”

“I am bound to obey your commands.”

“Greg, you can’t trust him. He’s a demon.”

“And you lied to me.”

“What!?”

“The Shadow warned me. You’ve been feeding information back to the Home Office without my knowledge, haven’t you?”

“No!”

Owen smiled. “Liar. I checked with them today; you sent them a recording of my interrogation with the Queen.”

“Greg, I can explain-”

“No. No, the Shadow was right-”

“Greg!”

“Make her be quiet.” Rumplestiltskin did. She charged at him. “Stop her!” Rumplestiltskin did that too, freezing her in place like before. Owen smiled sadly. “It was right. You lost your faith in me. I loved you, Tamara; I still do. And I want to thank you for that, because without that, I would never be able to do this.” He looked at Rumplestiltskin. “Bring me her heart.”

He did.

XxXxXxX

“This will work,” Belle said, handing Emma Baelfire’s shawl. If there was any object that would find its way back to Rumple, this was it. She refused to panic. 

“It’s a rag,” Regina complained. Belle glared at her.

“It’s my baby blanket,” Bae said. “He kept it.”

“That would do it,” Emma said firmly.

“So, what’s the plan? We all charge in after two lunatics armed with the Dark One’s dagger?” Regina scoffed.

“You’re quite free to leave if you don’t want to help,” Belle snapped. She was not comfortable having Regina there, especially without Rumple.

“Look, bookworm-”

“STOP!” Emma shouted. “I do not have the time or the patience to deal with your crap right now, Regina. Stay and actually be helpful, or go.”

Belle expected her to go (to, perhaps, join August and Henry at the loft) but she did not. Instead, she crossed her arms and sneered. “I want those strangers,” she said.

“Then listen. Here’s the plan. They’re expecting you, and possibly me and David. We go in as the distraction. Leroy, you’re with us. Nova, Bae, and Mary Margaret all have ranged weapons; they circle around and take them down from the back. Remember, all we need is the dagger; if you can get it away from them, it’s all over.”

“Assuming Rumple hasn’t erected any barriers or traps of any kind.”

“If he has, we’ll adjust. But remember; we’re up against Gold’s power, but not his brain. The only ones we have to outsmart are the strangers. Are you in?” Regina pursed her lips, but nodded sharply.

“What about me?” Belle asked.

“What-” Regina opened her mouth, but Emma raised her hand and cut her off mid-insult.

“I don’t suppose Gold taught you how to shoot his gun?” Emma asked.

Belle bit her lip and shook her head. She wasn’t a warrior; she knew that. But she couldn’t just leave Rumple in the hands of people who tortured and killed magic users. “Wait at the Sherriff’s Station,” David said. “Keep and eye on Hook and Smee. We’ll check in over the radio. If things start to go south, muster up anyone you can. Ruby and Granny, the rest of the dwarves, Gaston and LeFou, Dove…”

Belle nodded; it was a good plan. She looked at a Bae and smiled, “You realize that Rumple will never let me hear the end of letting you go off to fight with them, even if you are armed with Robin Hood’s bow.” But she could not deny him. Bae had reminded everyone that he was older than the rest of their assembled group put together (if one did not count the curse) and that he’d spent most of that time fighting for his life. He’d been right, but Belle didn’t think that that was what had decided Emma; it was after he’d reminded everyone that Rumple was his father that she had relented.

Bae smiled back at her, hitching the quiver up over his shoulder. “I’ll tell him I snuck out the back; he’ll believe that.”

Belle shook her head. “Just bring him back. And be safe, all of you.” She even glanced at Regina, who tossed her head with regal scorn.

“Are we ready?” the former Evil Queen asked.

Emma nodded, taking the shawl and the bottle of tracking potion. “We’re ready.”

The shawl shimmered and lifted into the air, and the group hurried after it. Bae glanced back at Belle and waved. She waved back until he turned back around, then headed towards the Sherriff’s Station. If Rumple needed her to raise an army, she would be prepared to raise an army.

XxXxXxX

“How many ingredients do we need for this thing?” Owen asked. They’d been to three locations around town so far, and all that was left was a witch’s hair. Had Regina’s home not been made inaccessible via blood wards, he would have taken the fool there and ended this (Regina was a witch, after all), but his curse would not allow him to waste time on an errand he knew would not successfully further Owen’s orders of preparing a new Dark Curse. 

“One.” They appeared in Ingrid’s bedroom. A simple sleeping spell, and the snow witch was never even aware of their presence. Rumplestiltskin noticed that she had a framed photograph of a young Emma Swan on her nightstand, which was extremely interesting, but a matter for a later time. Except that there would be no later time.

Then he took them both to the wishing well. “You said just one more,” Owen accused.

“The spell must be cast here.”

“OK, good. How do I make sure everything happens the way I want it to; do I write it down?”

“You believe.”

“What?”

“Your will rules the curse. Believe in what you wish to happen, and it will.”

He nodded, a manic gleam in his eyes. “Trust me, I believe. Even when everyone thought I was crazy, I’ve always believed.” Rumplestiltskin had a fleeting thought that they were lucky that the puppet was as well adjusted as he was, considering. But then, it would hardly matter in a couple of hours, would it?

Rumplestiltskin willed himself as hard as he could to fight the pull of the dagger - to summon up the slightest bit of magic to burn the woman’s heart to ash or send the curse scroll to the bottom of the bay - but it was useless. Owen pulled out the scroll and ordered, “Explain these steps to me. Clearly.”

 _Bae, Belle, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…_ Rumplestiltskin’s mouth opened and he began to explain. He died a little more with each word, his mind screaming as Owen eagerly tossed each ingredient into the well. Last was the heart, which the man did hesitate over - _don’t do it, don’t do it_ \- but did eventually crush, his expression resolute.

_NO!_

Nothing happened. 

“What?” Owen shouted. “What happened? Why didn’t it work?!”

“She wasn’t the thing you love most.” _Please. Please let him be unable to cast it._

“Yes, she was! She was the only one! There’s no one else! The only person I’ve ever loved more was my-” Owen stared at him. “What if the thing I love most is dead?” _The father. Of course._

He was able to evade. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“If there is a heart.”

“There isn’t!” Owen snarled. “Only bones!” _That’s it. Shout. Decry your failure. Do not ask me if there is a way-_ “There must be a way! I did not kill Tamara for nothing! Find a way for me to cast this curse!”

It was non-specific. He fought it. The buzzing in his head intensified until all his could think was _don’t do it, don’t do it, don’tdoitdon’tdoit…_ It wasn’t enough. A wave of his hand, and he summoned the father’s remains. The entire skeleton and the surrounding dirt appeared on the ground before them. “What do I do with this?” Owen demanded.

“Throw it in the well.”

Owen hesitated again, and Rumplestiltskin knew that there would be no more chances. This was the thing Owen loved most. He grit his teeth and began to scoop the remains into the well, ordering Rumplestiltskin to help him. Rumplestiltskin watched in horror as his own hands sealed Bae and Belle’s fates. The magic began to build, eventually satisfied with the ribcage and everything it had contained. Gray clouds began to boil out of the well, and Rumplestiltskin knew it was too late.


	33. Back to the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The first chapter of part three of this series, Off Script, will be posted next week at the usual time.

The shawl changed directions twice before heading towards the north side of town into the woods.

“Gold must be teleporting around,” Emma had said when Regina had complained about it. Now, it seemed that he was staying in one place. Emma could not decide if that was a good sign or a bad one.

“What do you think they’re doing out here?” Leroy asked.

“Something with the well,” Regina said. “It’s the only thing out here.”

“What can they do with the well?”

“With Rumple’s power? Probably a lot of things. It’s the source of all the magic in Storybrooke.”

“Yes, well, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

“Stop it, both of you,” Emma said, sighing. It seemed that she’d spent a lot of time recently saying that.

“Yes,” Nova agreed, “We need to work together.”

“Do we?” Leroy asked, “We’ve got your magic and Emma’s; why does the Queen even need to be here?”

“Against my father, we need everyone we can get,” Bae said.

“What exactly can he do, kid?” Emma asked. She was very aware right now that she had never really seen the extent of Gold’s power, and, based on the Book, she doubted that anyone here really had. Except for Baelfire.

But it was Regina who answered. “Basically, anything that doesn’t break a rule of magic,” she said. 

“That’s right,” Bae confirmed.

“And what are the rules?”

“Magic can’t raise the dead. It can’t change time. It can’t create love, and it can’t be destroyed,” Regina explained.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Too bad Disney got it wrong; time travel is a lot better than killing people,” Emma groused.

“Until you change the wrong thing and wink the universe out of existence,” Regina said.

“Yeah, well…”

“Wait,” Regina said, stopping suddenly. “Do you feel that?”

“Feel what?” Emma asked impatiently.

“Dark magic,” Nova said solemnly, “I feel it too. It feels… it feels…”

“No,” Regina said, “That’s impossible! Wait here!” And she vanished in a swirl of purple smoke.

“Regina!”

“Should we wait?” Nova asked.

“Why should we?” Leroy asked. “I don’t trust her.”

“She was really worried about something,” Emma said; her superpower had told her that much. 

“Something that can worry Regina?” Mary Margret said, “It must be bad; we should wait.”

“How long?” David asked.

“Nova, do you know what she was talking about?” Leroy asked. “You said you felt it too.”

“I do feel it, I’m just not sure what it is. Something just feels… wrong. Very wrong.”

“Is it coming from the well?” Bae asked.

Nova looked in that direction and back again. “Maybe? I’m not sure.”

She jumped when Regina appeared again just a few feet from her. “We are in big trouble,” she said bluntly. 

“What’s happened?” Mary Margaret asked.

“The curse scroll, the one that created Storybrooke; it’s gone. I think they’re casting a new curse.”

“What? How is that even possible?” Emma demanded. “They don’t have magic, do they? Is that what they ordered Gold to do?” 

“They couldn’t have,” Regina said. “Casting the spell takes the heart of the thing you love most; if it was Gold, he’d need his son’s heart.” Emma glanced at Bae.

Nova gasped, “Belle…”

Regina shook her head with a sneer. “It’s not ‘a thing you love’, it’s the thing you love most. He didn’t engineer the Dark Curse to find the bookworm, now did he?”

“Let me just check on the radio,” David said. “Belle are you there?”

“I’m here,” she said, “Have you found Rumple?”

“Not yet; we’ll keep you updated.”

“All right; thank you.”

“Well, that answers that,” David said.

“So, if the strangers did it, who did they sacrifice?” Emma demanded.

“My guess? One sacrificed the other. With Rumple’s help to set up the spell, anyone with enough belief and the right heart could do it,” Regina said.

“So what does this mean?” Emma asked, “Should I go back to Henry? Break this new curse?”

Regina shook her head. “You don’t get it, Miss Swan. When the curse takes full effect, you won’t even remember that there is a curse; you won’t remember who you are!”

“But I’m immune, right? I was immune to the first one.”

“Yes, because Rumple set it up that way; he’s not pulling the strings on this one!”

“So what the hell do we do?”

“There’s only one thing we can do; we need to get that scroll back before the curse takes full effect.”

“And then you can stop it?”

“Yes,” she said, but something was off.

“You’re holding something back; what is it?”

“We need the scroll… but the only way to stop this new curse… is for me to reverse the old one.”

“What a minute; Gold said that sends everyone back to where they were when it was cast. It would send you guys to the Enchanted Forest, Bae to Neverland, and Henry…”

“Henry would stay here,” Regina said. 

“There’s got to be another way!” Mary Margaret insisted.

“There isn’t,” Regina snarled. “Do you think I want this? I might be able to find a way to leave Miss Swan behind with him, but I’ll be going back with the rest of you idiots! After everything I’ve done to keep Henry, you think I’d chose this?”

“Let’s just get the scroll first,” Emma said, mind racing, “Then we can go from there. Maybe Gold has a loophole. He’s good at those.”

Regina swallowed hard. “Fine. Let’s go.” They set out again, only for the shawl to immediately switch directions.

“Now what?” Regina snapped.

“Belle, can you hear me?” David called over the radio. 

“Yes; what’s going on?”

“He might be headed your way; the shawl just switched directions. We’re on our way, but we’re pretty far out.”

“All right.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Regina said, and she vanished. With the shawl.

“REGINA!” Emma shouted.

XxXxXxX

“Belle?” David called again. Belle snatched up the radio; obviously, things were not going according to plan.

“Yes?”

“Regina just vanished with the shawl.”

“She did?” It should not have been a surprise; Belle did not trust Regina and never would.

“Listen closely. She thinks that the strangers have cast another Dark Curse. She says that we need to get the curse scroll before it takes effect so that she can stop it, but it would mean sending everyone back to where they were when the curse was cast. We think Gold might know a loophole, but he’s wherever the strangers are. We’re headed back downtown, but you’re closer than we are. Call Ruby, she can track Regina by scent. When you find her, tell us where you are. And if you can get the scroll or the dagger, do it.”

“If I can get the dagger, Rumple can get the scroll.”

“Exactly. We’re on our way.”

“I can do this.”

“Thank you, Belle.”

“Well,” Hook said, lounging against the door to his cell. “Isn’t that interesting. Let me out, love; I can get that scroll.”

“You don’t want to save us,” Belle snapped, “You want the dagger so you can kill Rumple.”

“First thing’s first; I can’t very well get my revenge on the Dark One if I’m cursed.”

“Well, fortunately for you, Ruby and I will get the dagger and save the town, and you’ll be safe in your cell,” she said primly, picking up the phone to call Ruby. Hook pouted but said nothing else. A minute later, Belle was out the door and on her way to the inn.

She didn’t make it that far. Rumple was standing in front of the clock tower with Owen. Silent and expressionless, he was using magic to suspend Regina spread-eagled in the air, as she gasped for breath and Owen gloated. Belle ducked back behind the building, hoping they hadn’t spotted her. She peeked around the corner again, and Rumple’s eyes met hers. His eyes softened, but he could say nothing. Owen, fortunately, was focused on Regina.

_What do I do?_ The radio would be too loud, so she pulled out her phone and called Emma. “They’re in front of the clock tower,” she whispered, “Rumple has Regina pinned. They don’t know I’m here.” 

“Do you have Ruby with you?” Emma asked quietly.

“No; I can’t reach the inn.”

“OK, wait there.”

“I think he’s going to kill her.”

“Damn it.” Belle heard Emma relaying to the group what she’d told her, while she tried desperately to think of a way to save Regina. Not for her sake, but for Rumple’s. And Henry’s. 

“Hello, love,” she heard from behind her, and she spun around, to see Hook reattaching his hook to his wrist, while Smee ran along behind him, a gun in his hands.

“How?”

“The Sherriff was in a bit too much of a hurry to search us properly, and those locks are quite accessible. What have we here?” He poked his head around the corner, taking a peek at the situation. From the sound of Owen’s shouting, Regina was still alive, but would not be for long. He turned back to her. “Well, it seems the Queen’s in a bit of a fix. Are the heroes on their way?”

Belle nodded, but she knew they would not get here in time to save Regina from Rumple, or, most likely, Rumple and herself from Hook. She would have to save them. And herself. “Belle? Belle, are you there?” Emma asked over the phone.

Hook smiled and snatched for it. Belle yanked it away form his grasp, but she was up against the wall, and his reach was so much longer than hers. He tried to pin her right hand with his hook, but it bounced off, repelled by magic. _Oh, Rumple, you wonderful man!_ Belle took advantage of Hook’s momentary surprise and kneed him as hard as he could in the nethers. He gave a surprised shout, and she hoped it was enough to attract Owen’s attention. To guarantee it, she screamed.

“Who’s there?” Owen shouted, and she heard a loud thud and a grunt, followed by coughing. She hoped it was Regina. Suddenly, she and both pirates were transported to the middle of the street. Regina was indeed alive, gasping on the ground at their feet, Owen standing over her with the dagger in his hand.

“Well, looks like people are popping up all over,” Owen said, his eyes on Hook. “You look pretty good for a dead man. Then again, so did she.” Regina grunted as he kicked her. He turned to Rumple, “What else can you do? Can you turn them into stuff?”

“Yes,” Rumple replied tonelessly.

“Can you turn them into… I don’t know…chickens?”

Rumple swallowed hard. “Yes.”

Owen grinned. “Do it.”

Hand shaking, Rumple made a gesture, and Hook transformed into a black rooster with a clipped left wing. He flapped frantically, but only ended up staggering around in circles. A second gesture, and Smee became a black and white speckled adolescent who crowed and flew away. _That’s it…_ Regina became a black hen who squawked indignantly but didn’t flee, and the then Rumple looked at Belle, his eyes full of pain.

She smiled at him. “It’s all right,” she said, “Go ahead.”

XxXxXxX

_Belle, please, please forgive me._ He couldn’t fight the pull of the dagger, but he tried anyway, pain bursting in his skull. But it was no use. She was still smiling at him when she was surrounded by smoke and transformed into a tiny, brown hen. _Belle…_

She immediately launched herself straight at Owen, claws extended. _No!_ Owen shouted something incomprehensible as he swiped at her with the dagger, but she was able to clumsily dodge, crashing into him, and scoring his face. Belle shrieked when Owen swung the dagger again, this time making contact. _BELLE!_ But the move had left Owen open to Regina, who attacked his right hand and tore into the flesh so deeply that he dropped the dagger. 

Once it hit the asphalt, Rumplestiltskin was his own again, and he lunged for Belle, turning her back into a human as he fell into his arms. There was a deep wound in her side. “Belle!”

“Rumple.” She smiled, and all he could think about was healing her. He didn’t even realize that that Regina, Jones, and presumably Smee had transformed back into humans until Regina stared shouting at Owen about the curse scroll. Belle stood up, now healed, and Rumplestiltskin, his eyes still on her, reached for the dagger, only for his hand to collide with someone else’s. He looked on in horror as Jones picked up the dagger and leveled it at his Rumplestiltskin’s eyes, grinning cruelly.

“Hello, crocodile.”

XxXxXxX

_Oh, you have got to be kidding me!_

After all that, Rumple had actually let Hook get a hold of the dagger? Regina shook Owen again roughly as she shouted at the pirate, “What do you think you’re doing, fishhook?”

“Getting my revenge, love; thought you of all people could understand that.”

“I understand that if you don’t give that dagger back in the next five minutes, you could kill us all! Owen here enacted a new Dark Curse, and Rumple is the only who might know how to break it!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, he did,” Rumple said flatly, slowly rising to his feet and pushing Belle behind him.

“Then how do we break it?” Hook asked. “Another kiss from the lovely Sherriff? I volunteer.”

“Gross,” Regina said. “And you think far too highly of yourself.”

“It can’t be broken,” Rumple said.

“All curses can be broken,” Hook sneered.

“Technically, yes, but Owen’s vision was for everyone in Storybrooke to die. There can be no True Love’s Kiss if everyone, including the Savior, is dead,” Rumple explained. Belle gasped.

“Rumple, there must be a way to stop this!” the librarian cried. 

“Only one,” he said, looking back at Regina.

She turned back to Owen, rummaging through his pockets. She found his gun and tossed it away. “Where is the curse scroll?! I know you have it.” 

“Left jacket pocket,” Rumple said. “There will be a price for reversing it,” he warned tiredly.

“You think I don’t know that?” Her hand closed around it, and she nearly blacked out when it showed her the price. _NO!_

“Something the matter, love?” Hook drawled mockingly.

Regina went from stunned to enraged in an instant and jumped to her feet, a fireball forming in her hand. “Yes, you sodden pirate! I’ve just learned what I’m going to have to do to save us all, and I don’t have time for your stupid feud with Rumple! Give back the dagger so he can gather the others here; we don’t have much time!” _Until I have to say goodbye forever._ But there was no time to mourn; the curse was already gathering strength. The wind had picked up, and Regina could hear unnatural thunder.

Hook simply huffed, waving the dagger about. “Well, I’m not averse to an audience myself. Dark One,” he commanded, “Gather the ‘others’.”

Purple smoke swirled, and Emma, the Charmings, the dwarf, the fairy, Rumple’s kid, and even Henry and the puppet appeared around them in a semi-circle. Henry!

“What the hell?” Booth asked. He spotted the dagger in Hook’s hand. “Shit.”

“Don’t swear in front of my son, puppet,” Regina snapped. _Not that it will matter soon anyway._

“Hook?” Miss Swan asked, “What are you doing? 

“Getting my revenge,” he said with a cocky smile. “And none too soon if the Queen is to be believed. So what is it to be done, love?” _How about I take that hook of yours and gut you with it?_

“Don’t call me ‘love’,” Regina snapped. “And ‘what’s to be done’ is that I have to reverse the first curse.”

Henry blinked, confused, “But that…”

“Gold, you’ve got to have a way around this, don’t you?” the Sherriff asked, her eyes pleading. _Because there’s always a way out for you, isn’t there? Not this time. Not for me._

Rumple’s gaze never left Hook, as he answered, “No. If she does not do this, we will all die.”

“But… you said that if she did that, I’d be left behind,” Henry said, his eyes wide.

Regina swallowed hard. _Damn it! Damnitdamnitdamit!_ “He was right,” she said, fighting tears. “But you won’t be alone. I can leave someone behind to look after you. Emma.” And, oh, it burned, but the curse was not giving her another choice; the Savior alone was able to defy the curse enough to allow this.

“Wait, Swan’s staying behind?” the idiot pirate asked, “I don’t like that.”

“You think I do?!” Regina screamed. “It’s the price of saving us all! I have to say goodbye to the thing I love most! So if you’re going to kill Rumple go ahead and do it, so that I can get on with this!”

“No!” Belle objected.

Henry called out. “Mom!” but she was in no mood to give a damn. This curse was Rumple’s as much as hers - why the hell shouldn’t he have to give up anything?

Hook shrugged. “All right, then.”

“Killian!” Emma said sharply. “Don’t!”

Killian sighed, and if Regina didn’t know better, she would have called his expression almost wistful. “Sorry, love, I’ve waited too long for this.” He looked at Rumple, sneering, “Dark One, I command you to - duck!” 

XxXxXxX

Killian didn’t even think. He spotted Greg staggering to his feet with a gun in his hand, his face twisted in rage as he glared at the Queen. If he made that shot they would all die. At Killian’s command, the Dark One threw himself on the ground; the dagger ruffling his hair as Killian threw it expertly, burying it in Greg’s heart.

The crocodile wasted no time scrambling for it, Greg gasping and clutching at him ineffectually. Killian watched dispassionately, wondering why the hell he’d just given up his revenge to save all their lives. He’d never actually feared dying; he’d only feared dying with his task unfulfilled. His eyes met the Sherriff’s. _Maybe that’s it._

“Can you save him?” Snow White asked the crocodile. 

“Not without taking another life,” the Dark One said. “Specifically yours, as you were the one who asked.”

“There must be-”

“There’s not,” the crocodile said flatly, pulling the dagger out. “He’s too far gone.” Hook didn’t know if he was telling the truth, and he didn’t care. The magic hunter had stolen Hook’s revenge and left him for dead. _Let him die._

“Look away, Henry,” the Queen said, hurrying over to the boy. The puppet, who was closer, covered the boy’s eyes. The magic hunter gasped once more and died. The Dark One stood, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off the dagger. He met Hook’s gaze, but addressed the Queen.

“We have forty minutes. An hour at most.” Killian looked at Swan again. _That’s not enough time._

“The magic hunter said that he took some magic beans before they burnt the field,” Hook said, “If we find them-”

“It will do nothing,” the crocodile said. “The curse has already been cast, and it does not mater what realm it takes us from; it will take us.”

“But if Henry and I can find one-” Swan said.

“No,” the Queen cut her off, her voice tearful as she stroked the boy’s hair. “It’s the price of reversing the curse. I can never see Henry again, and everything will go back to the way it was. No travel between this realm and ours. No beans. And you won’t… you won’t even remember us.”

“What?” the boy asked.

“Regina, that can’t be right,” Emma objected.

“It is,” the crocodile said. “As she said, it would be as if the curse was never cast, as if these events never happened. You cannot remember what never was.”

The Queen nodded. “But there is something I can do.”

“What?” Emma pleaded, as if the Queen could produce some last minute solution that would negate everything she and the crocodile has just said.

“I can do what I did to everyone else in this town. I can give you new memories.”

“You cursed them, and they were miserable,” Emma objected. Killian nodded, frowning.

“They didn’t have to be,” the Queen said, with a small shrug. “I can give you good memories. And I have to. Because it’s Henry’s best chance, his only chance, at a good life.” She took a step towards Emma and gave her a level stare. “I have no choice, Miss Swan; if I want Henry to be safe… and happy… I have to let you win. So I do. You won. He’s yours. He’ll have always been yours.”

Emma shook her head, “No. No, this isn’t…” She looked at her parents. “I just found you guys…”

The wind began to pick up more, and they heard another roll of thunder in the distance. Snow White looked towards the sound, then back to her daughter. “And now it’s time for you to leave us again. For your best chance. For his.”

“No! No… I… I’m not done! I’m… supposed to bring back all the happy endings. That’s what Henry always said!”

“Happy endings aren’t always what we think they will be,” Snow said, her eyes filling, “Look around you; you’ve touched the lives of everyone here.”

“But we’re a family.” She sounded lost. Hook didn’t like it. He didn’t like any of this.

“Yes, and we always will be,” her mother insisted with a tearful smile, “You gave us that.”

“You and Henry can be a family,” her father said, “And you can get your wish. You can be like everyone else. You can be happy.”

She looked to the crocodile. “Gold! Tell me there’s a way out of this! There’s always-”

“A price,” he said. He wasn’t mocking, or hateful, or anything that Hook knew him to be. For a moment, he seemed less the crocodile and more the spinner. Sad. Resigned. “This is it. And as prices go, it’s difficult to do better than a second chance with your boy.” He looked a Baelfire, who smiled slightly. _So you still won in the end, didn’t you crocodile?_

“But it won’t be real!”

“Your past won’t,” the Queen said. “But your future will. That’s what I’m counting on, Miss Swan. His future is in your hands, so don’t screw it up.”

“But I…” she looked at the puppet.

He smiled at her. “You can do it, Emma. This is your chance; the one I stole from you. You’ve got this.”

She let out a small sob, and Killian would have stepped forward to comfort her if her parents had not immediately embraced her from both sides. “This is your best chance, Emma,” Snow White said. “I know you’ll make the best of it.” The thunder boomed again, and they all looked up.

“If you want to pack anything,” the dwarf said, “You’d better make it quick.” 

_What have I done?_

XxXxXxX

Belle insisted that they see Emma and Henry off. Bae nodded in agreement. It mattered little to Rumplestiltskin. He followed where they led, chasing off the pirate when he tried to follow. He’d looked for a moment like he might argue, but a glare from the (soon to be former) Sherriff had set him back a step. He’d fingered his hook as if he were an errant schoolboy picking at his clothing, and said only, “For the record, Swan? I am sorry it’s come to this.”

“Yeah,” she’d said, her tone flat, “Me too.”

Then he’d left, probably to ensure that he was taken along with his ship. Rumplestiltskin hoped that the curse landed him back in the Endless Forest. Or Neverland. He looked at Bae. No, not Neverland. “Bae,” he said, catching his boy’s hand. “You understand…”

“That I’m going back to Neverland?” He asked, turning around. “Yes. But the Shadow is dead, and you’ll know I’m there. I know you’ll come for me.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded, pulling him in for a hug. “Yes. Yes, I will. Or we can look for the beans-”

Bae reciprocated the hug, then stepped back. “I want to say goodbye to Emma and Henry. You have a way to come after me, don’t you?”

Rumplestiltskin immediately thought of half a dozen possibilities, and he knew there were more. He nodded again. “Yes, but-”

“Then I trust you. I know you won’t leave me there.” He said it plainly. Honestly. This wasn’t just forgiveness, it was trust. Pure. Untainted by the years of hurt and betrayal. _Oh, Bae…_

“Never, Bae. I will always come for you.” 

“And the rest of the Lost Boys?” There was a certain familiarity to it, Rumplestiltskin thought. Nearly three centuries ago, he’d take on a terrible curse to save his boy from a war that devoured children. If only he’d stopped after he’d negotiated the truce with the ogres, none of the sorrow and pain that occurred afterwards would have happened, and he’d have actually been the hero he’d wanted to be. As far as second chances went, he could hardly do better.

Rumplestiltskin smiled. “If that is what you want, Bae.”

He nodded. “It is. They need us, Papa.”

“Then that is what we will do.”

Rumplestiltskin felt a touch on his arm, and he looked over to see Belle, smiling at him. “I know you can do this, Rumple.”

He smiled back and she leaned up to kiss him briefly. “Come on; let’s catch up.”

The scene at the town line was predictably saccharine. Hugs and tears and ‘I will always love you’s’. Further assurances to Miss Swan that she would be a fine mother to Henry, and that they would be happy together. Truth be told, it was Snow and Charming that were being dealt the worst hand, in Rumplestiltskin’s opinion, but he said nothing. They were resilient, these heroes. He had no regrets.

Belle, Bae, and the puppet waved as Emma and Henry piled into the yellow car, Regina, Snow, and Charming watching in silence as their children left them forever. Rumplestiltskin found himself looking away. _Perhaps some, then._ As the cloud approached them, Bae embraced him, tight enough to steal the wind from his lungs. “I’ll be waiting.”

_But I’d do it again. In a heartbeat._

Regina tore the scroll from its binding and crumpled it, then turned towards the wall of magic approaching them. Magic flowed from her hands, turning Owen’s gray clouds purple. The curse washed over them, and Rumplestiltskin felt Bae being ripped from his arms once again.

_I’m coming, Bae. I’m coming!_

End Part 2


End file.
